Nasal spray treats heroin overdose

NORWEGIAN doctors have developed a nasal spray to treat drug overdoses with the drug naloxone.

Naxalone has been used for years to treat heroin overdoses. Currently, paramedics treat overdoses with an injection, either as an intramuscular injection, or sometimes straight into the veins.

Every year, more than 250 people die from drug overdoses in Norway (K?re Eide, Oslo University Hospital)

“More people in Norway die annually of drug overdoses than in traffic accidents,” said, Arne Skulberg,  anaesthesiologist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). “Drug addicts deserve new medications that are researched and regulated just like any other patient group.”

In response, Dr. Skulberg, a PhD candidate at NTNU and the 2014 winner of Norway's Researcher Grand Prix competition, developed the nasal spray along with Professor Ola Dale and Ida Tyllesk?r.

Next year, the nasal spray will be tested in 260 overdose cases in Oslo and Trondheim.

When too much heroin enters the body, the breathing centre in the brain is dulled. Breathing will slow or stop completely, and death occurs quickly if no breathing assistance or treatment is given. “Many deaths from an overdose happen after the individual has stopped drug use for a while, such as when he or she has spent time in prison,” said Dr. Skulberg.

When the nasal spray is tested on drug addicts, paramedics will have a package containing the spray and an injection, both of which will be used to treat the overdose. Only one of the methods actually contains medication. The study is blind, because precise criteria for which method is more effective are difficult to define.

When paramedics arrive at the scene of an overdose, the first procedure is to help with the person's breathing. Then both the injection and nasal spray will be used, and the timer is started. They will time how long it takes before the patient takes their first breath on their own, when they can breathe evenly on their own, when their eyes open, and when they begin to move.

The researchers hope the nasal spray can be handed out to drug addicts, police officers, security guards and paramedics, so that more lives can be saved with less risk to first responders.

“There’s a high risk of blood contamination for those who work with drug addicts,” said Dr. Dale. “With a nasal spray, there’s less blood spilled, which minimizes the risk of contamination.”