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The opioid antagonist naloxone can reverse the life-threatening effects of opioid overdose when given intravenously, intramuscularly, or intranasally. To assess whether intranasal is as effective as intramuscular administration, researchers recruited participants at a supervised injection center in Australia. Consenting participants were then later enrolled in the trial if they demonstrated signs of opioid overdose necessitating naloxone administration. Participants were randomized to receive either 0.8 mg of naloxone intranasally and a placebo intramuscular injection (n=104) or 0.8 mg of naloxone intramuscularly and intranasal placebo (n=93).
Most participants reported injecting heroin (61%), followed by pharmaceutical opioids (21%) and fen…