Pharmacies across the region are being encouraged to distribute naloxone along
with higher dose opioid prescriptions and medication combinations to help fight
the opioid overdose crisis, according to a recent University of Rhode Island
College of Pharmacy study.
Naloxone, a safe and effective
antidote drug for opioid-related overdose, is the fastest and most effective
way to save someone’s life and restore breathing, according to Clinical
Professor Jeffrey Bratberg.
Pharmacies should offer the drug along with such prescription opioids as hydrocodone, morphine or fentanyl, to protect patients in the case of an accidental overdose, and they are willing to do so, the study has shown.
Pharmacies should offer the drug along with such prescription opioids as hydrocodone, morphine or fentanyl, to protect patients in the case of an accidental overdose, and they are willing to do so, the study has shown.
“The more naloxone we see in any
community, the fewer overdoses we see and the more opportunities to connect
people to care,” Bratberg said. “We know that the more pharmacies stock
naloxone, the more it’s distributed to the public, the more people are saved.”
Opioids work by binding to receptors
on the outside of a person’s cells. While the human body makes its own opioids
to relieve pain, which is the reason these receptors exist, too many occupied
receptors can lead to an overdose, since activation of these receptors also
causes breathing to slow down.
“Naloxone literally knocks those opioid molecules off the receptor,” Bratberg said, noting the process can take as little as two to three minutes.
“Eventually, the person will begin to feel pain again and could possibly experience other symptoms of opioid withdrawal. But, more importantly, the person is alive and breathing normally.”
Even if first responders are unsure
whether a patient is having an overdose, naloxone is still useful as a
“diagnostic aid.” The drug only affects a person when they are having an
opioid-related breathing emergency, which makes it a safe choice no matter the
situation.
“If I find you unconscious, and I
don’t know whether you used opioids or not, I’m just going to use this safe
drug to see that maybe it’ll revive you,” Bratberg said.
Bratberg’s study along with other
researchers, found that pharmacists had more positive attitudes toward fighting
the opioid crisis if they stocked naloxone and allowed anyone to freely acquire
it without a prescription via a standing order along with their opioid
prescriptions. The study demonstrates how the familiarity of the drug can lead
to the acceptance of it.
The more familiar the public and
pharmacists are with the drug, the easier it is to dispel the many myths
regarding its safety and efficacy.
The biggest myth, Bratberg said, is that you are putting yourself in harm’s way if you give someone else naloxone by putting them into withdrawal. Some people think the person will become extremely angry and combative. “Most of the time, they’re just grateful that they’re alive,” Bratberg said.
The biggest myth, Bratberg said, is that you are putting yourself in harm’s way if you give someone else naloxone by putting them into withdrawal. Some people think the person will become extremely angry and combative. “Most of the time, they’re just grateful that they’re alive,” Bratberg said.
Other myths include that powerful
forms of illegally manufactured fentanyl are resistant to naloxone, and that
the wider availability of naloxone will encourage more drug use due to people
who use drugs supposedly not having to worry about overdose. Neither are
true, Bratberg said.
“There’s no such thing as naloxone
parties where people intentionally use too many drugs because they have this
crutch of the Naloxone to use,” Bratberg said. “Nobody wants to
get naloxone; they just want to live.”
The ultimate goal is to normalize
the use of naloxone and change the stigma around possession of the medication.
Bratberg is furthering the study by examining the effectiveness of display ads
in pharmacies to promote naloxone. He hopes that prescribing naloxone will soon
be thought of as simply another safety maneuver like offering flu vaccines.
“There are people who are going to
use drugs, but there are ways to help people use them safer,” Bratberg said.
“We have to destigmatize this to help save lives.”