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Adult nursing
Opioid users reflect on their experiences responding to suspected opioid overdoses using take-home naloxone
  1. Juliet Donaghy
  1. Brantham Assessment Unit, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trus, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK
  1. Correspondence to Juliet Donaghy, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, Ipswich IP4 5PD, UK; juliet.a.donaghy{at}gmail.com

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Commentary on: Neale J, Brown C, Campbell ANC, et al. How competent are people who use opioids at responding to overdoses? Qualitative analyses of actions and decisions taken during overdose emergencies. Addiction. 2018 Nov 26. doi: 10.1111/add.14510.

Implications for practice and research

  • Opioid users described using take-home naloxone (THN) to deliver emergency treatment to victims of opioid overdose.

  • Insights from opioid users who have responded to overdoses could improve THN.

  • This study provides a foundation for research exploring the competency of individuals delivering first-line treatment to opioid overdose victims.

Context

In the USA, opioid overdose accounted for 42 249 deaths during 2016. Respiratory depression caused by opioid overdose can be reversed by the timely administration of naloxone. THN programmes supply naloxone and advice in responding to opioid overdose crisis to non-medical professionals.1 Current provision does not appear to meet the …

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Footnotes

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.