Naloxone Use by Aotearoa New Zealand Emergency Medical Services, 2017–2021

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aut.relation.endpage362
aut.relation.issue3
aut.relation.journalEmergency Medicine Australasia
aut.relation.startpage356
aut.relation.volume36
dc.contributor.authorKumpula, Eeva-Katri
dc.contributor.authorTodd, Verity F
dc.contributor.authorO'Byrne, David
dc.contributor.authorDicker, Bridget L
dc.contributor.authorPomerleau, Adam C
dc.date.accessioned2024-06-12T01:33:37Z
dc.date.available2024-06-12T01:33:37Z
dc.date.issued2023-11-30
dc.description.abstractOBJECTIVE: Emergency medical services (EMS) use of naloxone in the prehospital setting is indicated in patients who have significantly impaired breathing or level of consciousness when opioid intoxication is suspected. The present study characterised naloxone use in a nationwide sample of Aotearoa New Zealand road EMS patients to establish a baseline for surveillance of any changes in the future. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of rates of patients with naloxone administrations was conducted using Hato Hone St John (2017-2021) and Wellington Free Ambulance (2018-2021) electronic patient report form datasets. Patient demographics, presenting complaints, naloxone dosing, and initial and last vital sign clinical observations were described. RESULTS: There were 2018 patients with an equal proportion of males and females, and patient median age was 47 years. There were between 8.0 (in 2018) and 9.0 (in 2020) naloxone administrations per 100 000 population-years, or approximately one administration per day for the whole country of 5 million people. Poisoning by unknown agent(s) was the most common presenting complaint (61%). The median dose of naloxone per patient was 0.4 mg; 85% was administered intravenously. The median observed change in Glasgow Coma Scale score was +1, and respiratory rate increased by +2 breaths/min. CONCLUSIONS: A national rate of EMS naloxone patients was established; measured clinical effects of naloxone were modest, suggesting many patients had reasons other than opioid toxicity contributing to their symptoms. Naloxone administration rates provide indirect surveillance information about suspected harmful opioid exposures but need to be interpreted with care.
dc.identifier.citationEmergency Medicine Australasia, ISSN: 1742-6731 (Print); 1742-6723 (Online), Wiley, 36(3), 356-362. doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.14358
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/1742-6723.14358
dc.identifier.issn1742-6731
dc.identifier.issn1742-6723
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10292/17653
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherWiley
dc.relation.urihttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1742-6723.14358
dc.rights© 2023 The Authors. Emergency Medicine Australasia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectemergency medical services
dc.subjectnaloxone
dc.subjectopioid toxicity
dc.subjectparamedic
dc.subjectprehospital
dc.subjectemergency medical services
dc.subjectnaloxone
dc.subjectopioid toxicity
dc.subjectparamedic
dc.subjectprehospital
dc.subject32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
dc.subject3202 Clinical Sciences
dc.subjectEmergency Care
dc.subjectOpioids
dc.subjectClinical Research
dc.subjectSubstance Misuse
dc.subjectWomen's Health
dc.subjectNeurosciences
dc.subject3 Good Health and Well Being
dc.subject1103 Clinical Sciences
dc.subject1117 Public Health and Health Services
dc.subjectEmergency & Critical Care Medicine
dc.subject3202 Clinical sciences
dc.subject.meshNaloxone
dc.subject.meshHumans
dc.subject.meshNew Zealand
dc.subject.meshMale
dc.subject.meshFemale
dc.subject.meshMiddle Aged
dc.subject.meshRetrospective Studies
dc.subject.meshEmergency Medical Services
dc.subject.meshAdult
dc.subject.meshNarcotic Antagonists
dc.subject.meshAged
dc.subject.meshAdolescent
dc.subject.meshDrug Overdose
dc.subject.meshHumans
dc.subject.meshNaloxone
dc.subject.meshNarcotic Antagonists
dc.subject.meshRetrospective Studies
dc.subject.meshAdolescent
dc.subject.meshAdult
dc.subject.meshAged
dc.subject.meshMiddle Aged
dc.subject.meshEmergency Medical Services
dc.subject.meshNew Zealand
dc.subject.meshFemale
dc.subject.meshMale
dc.subject.meshDrug Overdose
dc.subject.meshNaloxone
dc.subject.meshHumans
dc.subject.meshNew Zealand
dc.subject.meshMale
dc.subject.meshFemale
dc.subject.meshMiddle Aged
dc.subject.meshRetrospective Studies
dc.subject.meshEmergency Medical Services
dc.subject.meshAdult
dc.subject.meshNarcotic Antagonists
dc.subject.meshAged
dc.subject.meshAdolescent
dc.subject.meshDrug Overdose
dc.titleNaloxone Use by Aotearoa New Zealand Emergency Medical Services, 2017–2021
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id532035
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