Important updates for International Overdose Awareness Day

Key takeaways:

• International Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to combat overdose.
• Healio compiled a list of stories on the opioid crisis over the past year.

Aug. 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day. It is a time to remember those lost to substance use disorders and addiction, particularly as the United States and countries around the globe grapple with the opioid crisis.

Here, Healio presents a selection of stories over the past year that address the dangers inherent with use and misuse of prescribed and illicit substances and other important updates regarding overdose:

FDA approves generic over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray

The FDA has approved an abbreviated new drug application for naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray, paving the way for the opioid overdose treatment to be available without a prescription. Read more.

Nearly 60 million Americans dealing with mental illness, opioid use as self-medication concurrent

According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 59 million U.S. residents reported dealing with some type of mental health issue, with almost 9 million people reporting misuse of opioids in the past year. Read more.

FDA approves nalmefene hydrochloride auto-injector for opioid overdose

The FDA approved Zurnai (Purdue Pharma, LLP) the first nalmefene hydrochloride auto-injector, for emergency treatment of opioid overdose in adults and youth aged 12 years and older. Read more.

Addiction affects nearly 1 in 10 individuals prescribed opioids for pain

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in Addiction revealed that approximately one in 10 individuals treated with prescription opioid painkillers experienced opioid dependency or opioid use disorder. Read more.

FDA grants breakthrough therapy designation to opioid with ‘overdose protection’

The FDA has granted breakthrough therapy designation to a “next-generation opioid” designed to limit oral overdose potential, according to a press release from its manufacturer. Read more.

Physicians hamstrung by dearth of addiction resources, training

Poor training and other institutional factors were cited as major reasons for physicians’ lack of comfort level in treating addiction, a systematic review in JAMA Network Open found. Read more.

Physicians not immune to stigmatizing language surrounding addiction

Recent research from Weill Cornell School of Medicine found that stigmatizing language is highly prevalent in the clinical notes of individuals with opioid use disorder, more so with Black and Hispanic patients. Read more.

Alternative therapies may be answer to opioid cravings

Recent research emanating from China revealed that acupuncture was superior to sham in reducing methadone doses and opioid cravings in patients undergoing treatment for opioid addiction. Read more.

Q&A: US experiencing ‘very concerning’ rise in overdose deaths among adolescents

Overdose deaths among high school-aged adolescents in the United States more than doubled between 2019 and 2020, researchers reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read more.

Few patients use medications for opioid use disorder after overdose

Few individuals received medications for opioid use disorder or filled a naloxone prescription after a nonfatal drug overdose, despite the benefits of these treatments in reducing the odds for a future fatal overdose, data show. Read more.

Reference:

• Overdose Awareness Week. https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/observances/overdose-awareness-week. Accessed Aug. 28, 2024.