Summary
Drug overdose is one of the major causes of death among young people in Europe. Naloxone is an effective antidote that can reverse opioid (including synthetic opioid) intoxication. As overdoses quite often occur in the presence of peers or family members, programmes that enable bystanders to provide first aid and administer naloxone before an ambulance arrives can save lives.
We conducted a systematic review of the available studies on take-home naloxone to reverse opioid overdose and included 21 studies for analysis (with various study designs). There is evidence from one interrupted time-series study, involving 2 912 opioid users at risk of overdose in 19 communities followed up for seven years, that educational and training interventions complemented by take-home naloxone decrease overdose-related mortality.
There is weaker, but consistent, evidence that similar interventions for opioid-dependent patients and their peers effectively improve knowledge while forming positive attitudes to the correct use of naloxone and the management of witnessed overdoses.