Drug Overdose

The FDA has accepted a supplemental new drug application for Narcan nasal spray as an over-the-counter emergency treatment for opioid overdose.

The prevalence of drug overdose mortality substantially increased among pregnant and postpartum persons from 2017 to 2020, highlighting the need for more prevention, treatment and harm reduction efforts, researchers reported in JAMA.

The biggest news on Healio Psychiatry over the last month was the controversy over daylight saving time.

Benzodiazepines, compared with alternative pharmacologic treatments for common sleep disorders, were linked to an increased risk for drug overdoses among young people, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.

As drug overdose deaths grab headlines in the U.S., 14.7% of these deaths were positive for antihistamines and 3.6% of them were classified as antihistamine-involved, according to data published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Nonadherence to treatment with buprenorphine is associated with an increased risk of opioid overdose as well as increased spending for health care among Medicare participants, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Two-thirds of an estimated 108,174 overdose deaths in the United States in the 12 months ending in April 2022 can be attributed to synthetic opioids, specifically illicitly manufactured fentanyl, researchers reported in MMWR.

Mortality due to overdose reached an all-time high among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in 2020 amid the pandemic, researchers reported in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Telehealth services used by Medicare beneficiaries who initiated opioid use disorder-related care during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with improved retention in care and reduced odds for overdose.

In recognition of International Overdose Awareness Day, HHS announced it is awarding $79.1 million in overdose prevention grants as a part of President Joe Biden’s National Drug Control Strategy.