Home > Naloxone administration in Ireland, 2018–2020.

Millar, Sean ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4453-8446 (2023) Naloxone administration in Ireland, 2018–2020. Drugnet Ireland, Issue 84, Winter 2023, pp. 38-40.

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Opioids are the main drug group implicated in drug overdose deaths in Ireland. Naloxone is an antidote for opioid overdose that reverses the depressant effects of opioids such as heroin. Following a successful pilot of the Naloxone Demonstration Project in 2015, the Health Service Executive (HSE) developed a naloxone training programme for service providers. However, there has been little evaluation of the expanded naloxone programme since its initial pilot phase. A 2022 report aimed to provide an assessment of the impact of the provision of naloxone and training to addiction and homeless service providers in Ireland.1 This article highlights the main findings.

Number of units provided and outcomes
From 2018 to 2020, there were 8,881 units of naloxone supplied by the HSE National Social Inclusion Office to service providers (see Table 1). Overall, 59% of units were intramuscular, with 41% intranasal. The majority of naloxone was administered by service provider staff (94%), with 3% administered by peers, 2% by an unspecified individual, and 1% by a general practitioner or a nurse. Between 2018 and 2020, it was reported that naloxone was administered to 569 people. Of these, 98% survived the overdose, with 9 deaths. The number of people receiving naloxone has fluctuated, with a 13% increase experienced in 2020 compared with 2018 (see Table 2).

Table 1: Number of naloxone units supplied to service providers, 2018–2020

Table 2: Naloxone administration by outcome, 2018–2020

Profile of those receiving naloxone
Age and sex information was supplied for 79% and 91% of those receiving naloxone, respectively. Between 2018 and 2020, 61% of those receiving naloxone were male, with this proportion significantly increasing from 51% in 2018 to 75% in 2020. Seventy-one per cent were aged between 25 and 44 years, with an average age of 37.6 years.

Other findings
Other notable findings from the report include the following:

  • Four areas of Dublin City (Dublin 7, Dublin 1, Dublin 8, and Dublin 2) accounted for over two-thirds (67%) of overdoses where naloxone was administered.
  • Some 51% of those that had received naloxone were reported to have taken more than one substance, with 35% taking two substances.
  • Some 62% of people were reported to have overdosed by injection. Over two-thirds (68%) of those that had taken heroin had injected.
  • It is estimated that the naloxone programme has saved the lives of at least 22 people between 2018 and 2020.


1         Evans D, Bingham T, Hamza S and Keenan E (2022) Naloxone administration by addiction and homeless service providers in Ireland: 2018–2020. Drug Insights Report 2. Dublin: HSE National Social Inclusion Office.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/36455/

Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
Opioid
Intervention Type
Drug therapy, Treatment method
Issue Title
Issue 84, Winter 2023
Date
March 2023
Page Range
pp. 38-40
Publisher
Health Research Board
Volume
Issue 84, Winter 2023
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