Prehospital Naloxone for Drug Overdose

With increasing rates of opioid overdose in the U.S., increased availability of intranasal naloxone — including distribution to addicted individuals, family members, and police officers — has been gaining wider acceptance. However, emergency medical services (EMS) protocols in many jurisdictions restrict the use of naloxone by emergency medical technician (EMT)-basics. Because rural communities rely disproportionately on EMT-basics, such restriction could increase risk to rural overdose patients.

To assess whether naloxone is used less in rural patients, researchers analyzed data from the National Emergency Medical Services Information System, an unweighted convenience sample from 42 states. Of more than 250,000 calls to 911 that were identi…