Naloxone

Two major policy updates were published in 2024 regarding opioids and children.

Although key steps have been taken to improve access to naloxone for the acute treatment of opioid overdose, more work is needed to overcome the stigma associated with the root cause — substance use disorder.

Although state laws have expanded access to naloxone, overdose deaths among adolescents and young adults continue to climb, according to data published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Pregnant women with opioid use disorder treated with buprenorphine combined with naloxone had similar and, in some cases, more favorable neonatal and maternal outcomes vs. treatment with buprenorphine alone, researchers reported in JAMA.

Less than 15% of surveyed U.S. college students knew how to use naloxone in the event of an overdose, according to results published in JAMA Pediatrics.

TORONTO — Preliminary results of a project to educate practitioners about naloxone use showed it improved their knowledge of the opioid antagonist and significantly increased naloxone distribution to patients at a Los Angeles clinic.

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.

Telehealth may be a useful modality in providing care for opioid use disorder to pregnant women with similar obstetric outcomes as that of in-person care, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.

Members of the AMA adopted new policies on substance use during its annual meeting of the House of Delegates, according to a press release.

SAN DIEGO — “Now more than ever,” physicians need to manage opioid use disorder with pharmacological treatment in the primary care setting, according to a speaker at the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting.