Intranasal Naloxone for Treatment of Opioid Overdose

Abstract

In theory, intranasal (IN) naloxone should be effective and practical for the treatment of acute opioid overdose. To date, evaluation of its effectiveness has been limited, but what is known is promising with reports that it is effective and safe, can reduce the requirement for injected treatments and has comparable times to recovery with other routes of administration. Unfortunately, naloxone as it is currently manufactured is not ideal for IN administration, as effective doses require drug volumes in excess of recommended volumes for adequate nasal absorption. Further well-designed research is needed to confirm IN naloxone's effectiveness, adverse event profile and utility. If effectivenes..