Better late than never, right? 24 papers over two months. 1) Overdose rescues by trained and untrained participants and change in opioid use among substance-using participants in overdose education and naloxone distribution programs: a retrospective cohort study. Doe-Simkins M, Quinn E, Xuan Z, Sorensen-Alawad A, Hackman H, Ozonoff A, Walley AY. BMC Public Health. 2014 AprRead More
PubMed Update February 2014
8 papers today, essentially about naloxone and heroin. 1) Risk of anaphylaxis in opioid dependent persons: effects of heroin versus substitution substance. Maurer U, Kager C, Fellinger C, Loader D, Pollesböck A, Spitzer B, Jarisch R. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2014 Feb 27;9(1):12. [Epub ahead of print] Comment: Seeking alternative explanations for “overdose”, theRead More
PubMed Update January 2014
10 papers this month, half of which relate to the United Kingdom. We continue to move forward. 1) Characterization of opioid overdose and response in a high-risk community corrections sample: A preliminary study. Cropsey KL, Martin S, Clark CB, McCullumsmith CB, Lane PS, Hardy S, Hendricks PS, Redmond N. J Opioid Manag. 2013 Nov-Dec;9(6):393-400. Comments: Valuable surveyRead More
PubMed Update November/December 2013
We close out 2013 with an impressive 25 papers in the final two months for a total count of 89 papers. Some interesting new approaches and perspectives, including a paper on the underappreciated role of adulterants, a couple of naltrexone papers, and lots of lay naloxone. 1) The Whole Is Just the Sum of ItsRead More
PubMed Update September 2013
12 articles this month. 1) Effectiveness of Naltrexone in the Prevention of Delayed Respiratory Arrest in Opioid-Naive Methadone-Intoxicated Patients. Aghabiklooei A, Hassanian-Moghaddam H, Zamani N, Shadnia S, Mashayekhian M, Rahimi M, Nasouhi S, Ghoochani A. Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:903172. Epub 2013 Sep 9. Comments: Interesting use of the long-acting opioid antagonist naltrexone in this studyRead More
PubMed Update October/November 2012
My apologies for tardiness. I’ll try to be on time next month. 13 papers described below. Prevention of fatal opioid overdose. Beletsky L, Rich JD, Walley AY. JAMA. 2012 Nov 14;308(18):1863-4. doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.14205. Comment: An excellent summary of key issues in overdose prevention and increasing naloxone availability for lay overdose reversal. Read it. Management ofRead More