@article{ref1,
title="Two cases of intranasal naloxone self-administration in opioid overdose",
journal="Substance abuse",
year="2014",
author="Green, Traci C. and Ray, Madeline and Bowman, Sarah E. and McKenzie, Michelle and Rich, Josiah D.",
volume="35",
number="2",
pages="129-132",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Overdose is a leading cause of death for former prisoners, exacting its greatest toll during the first 2 weeks post release. Protective effects have been observed with training individuals at high risk of overdose and prescribing them naloxone, an opioid antagonist that reverses the effects of the opioid-induced respiratory depression that causes death. Cases: The authors report 2 people with opiate use histories who self-administered intranasal naloxone to treat their own heroin overdoses following release from prison. Patient A is a 34-year-old male, who reported having experienced an overdose on heroin the day after he was released from incarceration. Patient B is a 29-year-old female, who reported an overdose on her first injection of heroin, 17 days post release from incarceration. Both patients self-administered the medication but were assisted at some point during the injury by a witness whom they had personally instructed in how to prepare and administer the medication. Neither patient experienced withdrawal symptoms following exposure to naloxone. <br><br>DISCUSSION: Self-administration of naloxone should not be a goal of overdose death prevention training. A safer, more reliable approach is to prescribe naloxone to at-risk patients and train and also equip members of their household and social or drug-using networks in overdose prevention and response.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0889-7077",
doi="10.1080/08897077.2013.825691",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2013.825691"
}