Narcan May Fail Against Newer Street Drugs

The FDA approved over-the-counter Narcan (Naloxone) to help everyday citizens save their friends who overdose on drugs like fentanyl. Fentanyl and similar drugs now account for most of overdose deaths in the U.S., with estimates ranging from 60 percent to 79 percent, according to Medical Life Sciences News. People are overdosing and dying from newer and stronger drugs.

A Second Dose

A new study published in the journal Anesthesiology found that sometimes people needed a second dose of the drug that helps bring people back from the brink of death. It can work within two to three minutes after administering it, and the effects can last anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes.

However, Narcan might not be strong enough to reverse an overdose of other, newer street drugs, like cychlorphine, which is estimated to be up to 10 times as potent as fentanyl.

“Our study shows that the current doses of naloxone may not be sufficient to reverse overdoses caused by newer synthetic opioids. We hope these findings encourage institutions to update guidelines and reinforce the importance of fast emergency intervention,” said Maarten A. van Lemmen, PhD, study lead author of the Department of Anesthesiology and Anesthesia and Pain Research Unit, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.

Call 911

The authors of the study urge people to call 911 right away, no matter what, even if it appears the person is awake because looking “awake” doesn’t mean the person is fully recovered and breathing normally again, according to James P. Rathmell, MD., Anesthesiology editor-in-chief and Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School, and Steven E. Kern, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Bioengineering, University of Utah.