Research reveals potential advantages of naloxone in opioid-associated cardiac arrest

Sufferers who overdose on opioids and have a pulse are sometimes given naloxone (Narcan) by first responders, a typical life-saving measure.

Nevertheless, emergency medical service (EMS) businesses have totally different protocols for administering naloxone, so there may be little proof to assist its use in sufferers and not using a pulse who skilled opioid-associated out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

A current examine by UC Davis Well being researchers got down to assess the consequences of giving naloxone administration by paramedics to sufferers with OHCA. 

The examine, printed in Jama Community Open, concluded there was an affiliation between naloxone administration, and each return of spontaneous circulation and survival to hospital discharge.

“The incidence of drug-related cardiac arrests has skyrocketed previously twenty years, and there may be an pressing want for proof to information doable naloxone use on this circumstance,” mentioned David Dillon, assistant professor of Emergency Medication and one of many examine’s authors.

What’s naloxone?

Naloxone is a drugs that quickly reverses an opioid overdose. It’s an antagonist -; that means it attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the consequences of different opioids. Naloxone can shortly restore regular respiratory to an individual whose respiratory has slowed or stopped due to an opioid overdose. Researchers hypothesize that naloxone might also assist sufferers who’re experiencing opioid-related cardiac arrest.

Naloxone has no impact on somebody who doesn’t have opioids of their system, nor does it hurt them, and it isn’t a remedy for opioid use dysfunction.

Opioid-associated cardiac arrests

Cardiac arrest happens when the center all of the sudden stops beating. Roughly 350,000 cardiac arrests happen outdoors the hospital every year, in response to the American Coronary heart Affiliation. The vast majority of these are attributable to coronary heart assaults or electrical points with the center, however opioid overdose-related cardiac arrests are a serious explanation for dying for adults 25 to 64 years previous.

Current research estimate 17.6% of all OHCA, and 34% of OHCA in these underneath 60 years of age, are the results of opioid toxicity.

Research outcomes

For this retrospective examine, researchers collected knowledge from San Francisco, Sacramento and Yolo county EMS businesses between 2015-2023. In whole, 8,195 sufferers with OHCA have been handled by the three businesses.

The outcomes confirmed EMS administration of naloxone was related to considerably improved outcomes. The quantity wanted to deal with with naloxone, which represents the variety of sufferers that have to be given naloxone to watch one extra constructive end result, was 9 sufferers for return of spontaneous circulation and 26 sufferers who survived and have been discharged from the hospital.

Surprisingly, our findings confirmed that naloxone was related to improved medical outcomes in each drug-related cardiac arrests and non-drug associated cardiac arrests. That is essential as a result of it provides to our understanding in regards to the effectiveness of naloxone for drug associated out of hospital cardiac arrest.”

David Dillon, Assistant Professor, Emergency Medication, College of California – Davis Well being

The researchers famous that these discovering warrant additional investigation, given the rising opioid epidemic in the US and the potential advantages of naloxone as a part of cardiac arrest care.