Pubdate: Wed, 12 Nov 2014
Source: Vancouver 24hours (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Vancouver 24 hrs.
Contact: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/letters
Website: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3837
Author: Michael Mui
Page: A3

HEALTH REVIEW FINDS FEW DEATHS IN NALOXONE PROGRAMS

A review of naloxone being administered at home, instead of by trained
health professionals, finds few deaths among jurisdictions that allow
taking the drug home

A Health Canada-ordered review of naloxone - a heroin antidote being
distributed in B.C. - comes up short on findings in its comparison in
the drug being administered at home versus by a health
professional.

However, the study - completed by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and
Technologies in Health - did find that death rates were low or
non-existent in two jurisdictions with take-home naloxone programs.

"The non-comparative evidence from two studies suggest that the
mortality rate for take-home naloxone programs is low, as a program in
San Francisco, California reported six deaths (2%) among 399
participants while a program in Toronto, Ontario did not report any
deaths among 209 participants," the agency said.

The report did not discover much else.

The study was conducted as drug users call for Health Canada to make
changes to remove the requirement for a prescription - which is also
only given to opiate addicts - to obtain naloxone.

Those in the community argue people who are around drug users -
family, friends, co-workers and so on - need to have access to the
medication and be trained to use it, as an overdosing user is unable
to help themselves.

B.C., meanwhile, started a take-home naloxone program two years ago
and has so far distributed 1,300 packages, each containing two shots
of the medication.

Erin Gibson, Fraser Health regional harm reduction coordinator, said
allowing someone who wasn't prescribed naloxone to use it is "not in
line with regulation."

However, local health officials have begun training those around drug
users to administer the medication. About 2,200 people have been
trained, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

"They have different things: parents who have lost a child to
overdose, they speak about learning about the naloxone kit and
learning how to respond," Gibson said.

"Differenciating from a deep sleep and an actual overdose - that's a
big piece. We know that 80% of overdoses are witnesses from the
research and literature.

"That means, at some point at the time of overdose, someone had come
across that individual - that's an opportunity for someone to take
action by calling 911, and going through the steps listed in the
(naloxone) kit."
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MAP posted-by: Matt