Naloxone effectiveness: A systematic review

Joint Event on 4^th World Congress on Nursing Education & Research & Annual Congress on Child Care: Mental Health, Psychology & Nursing

April 12-13, 2019 | Toronto, Canada

Lisa Chimbar and Yvette Moleta

Simmons University School of Nursing, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Purpose: Opioid abuse and overdose is a public health concern as it relates to increased morbidity and mortality. This systematic review focuses on the application of take-home naloxone programs and its association with decreased mortality among those who abuse opioids. Take-home naloxone programs consist of distributed naloxone kits and corresponding education of overdose recognition. The purpose of this systematic review is to determine if programs that supply take-home naloxone are effective in preventing fatal overdoses among those who abuse opioids.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in academic search complete, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsychINFO and SocINDEX. The keywords searched were: “programs”, “take-home kits”, “Narcan”, “Naloxone” and “mortality”. Based upon the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria nine studies were found for inclusion.

Results: Study results were then synthesized, qualitatively and within the current research there is overwhelming support of take-home naloxone programs being effective in preventing fatal opioid overdoses. A significant limitation of this systematic review is the lack of randomized control trials as it is viewed as unethical withholding a known lifesaving medication from an atrisk population.

Practice Implications: Based on the most current evidence, there is overwhelming support of take-home naloxone programs associated with decreased mortality among those who abuse opioids. As a result, there is an implication for a practice change that take-home naloxone programs should be more widely implemented throughout communities as a method of decreasing mortality associated with opioid overdoses. It is recommended that further research is done examining the cost-effectiveness of these programs.