Skip to main content

More Bystanders Are Using Naloxone to Save Folks From Overdose

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Oct 14, 2024.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Oct. 14, 2024 -- More bystanders are stepping in to administer naloxone to people who’ve overdosed on opioids, a new study shows.

Nearly 25,000 OD patients received naloxone from an untrained bystander before paramedics arrived, according to emergency medical services records from June 2020 to June 2022.

“Our findings revealed that people receiving naloxone from laypersons increased by 43.5%, proving that public health efforts are working,” said researcher Chris Gage, a doctoral student at the Ohio State University College of Public Health.

However, researchers also noted that more work needs to be done to improve awareness of naloxone, based on the EMS data.

Only about 3% of all OD patients who received naloxone got it from non-medical bystanders, results show.

“In a perfect world, this should be closer to a 100%, highlighting a need to improve naloxone education, enhance access and investigate and remove obstacles to its use,” Gage said in a news release.

Naloxone rapidly reverses an overdose by blocking opioid receptors in the body.

“Naloxone is a lifesaving medication that can reverse opioid overdose effects when given immediately,” said senior researcher Dr. Ashish Panchal, a clinical professor of emergency medicine at Ohio State University. “Similar to CPR, stepping up to help before emergency crews arrive can be the difference between life and death.”

During the past decade, there’s been an ongoing campaign to improve access to and awareness of naloxone, researchers said.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved over-the-counter sales of naloxone, and the drug is frequently prescribed whenever someone is prescribed narcotics for medical purposes like pain relief.

In addition, 46 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that provide legal immunity for Good Samaritans who step in to help someone having an opioid overdose, researchers noted.

Future research will look into groups that make naloxone available to bystanders, and how to make sure the drug is available for patients in need, the team said.

The new study was published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Sources

  • Ohio State University, news release, Oct. 14, 2024

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

CDC: Drug Overdose Deaths Down More Than 25 Percent in 2024

WEDNESDAY, May 14, 2025 -- Drug overdose deaths decreased by 26.9 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to provisional data released today from the National Center for Health...

U.S. Illicit Opioid Use Could Be 20 Times Higher Than Previously Estimated

MONDAY, May 12, 2025 — More Americans use illicit opioids like fentanyl than previously estimated, undercutting perceived progress in confronting the U.S. opioid crisis, a...

Medetomidine, a Pet Sedative, Spreads in U.S. Illegal Drug Supply

FRIDAY, May 2, 2025 — A sedative used in animals is showing up more often in illegal drugs and may be making opioid overdoses harder to treat, U.S. health officials...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.