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January 27, 2022 – It is no secret that a specific public health epidemic has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic: drug overdose deaths. From May 2020 to April 2021, more than 100,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses, according to the CDC. About 64% of these deaths are from opioids, mostly fentanyl.
To reduce these deaths, researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new carrying device that can tell when a person is overdosing on opioids.
It is possible to reverse opioid overdose with naloxone, but it should be given as soon as someone shows signs of overdose or stops breathing. If a person gets an overdose on their own or if no one around has a dose of naloxone or training to use it, that person is much more likely to die. This led researchers to develop an automatic injection system that people with opioid disorders can carry against their stomachs. The new device works a lot like an insulin pump.
It has sensors to detect breathing patterns and is programmed to detect signs of slowed or stopped breathing and movement. If the sensors detect life-threatening respiratory symptoms that indicate an overdose, this triggers naloxone injection. The researchers tested the device on volunteers in two environments and published their findings in the journal Scientific reports in November.
One of the test sites was a supervised injection clinic in Vancouver, Canada, where addicts can use IV drugs in the presence of a trained medical professional. Twenty-five volunteers carried the device to ensure that it accurately measured their respiratory patterns while using opioids, but the devices were not programmed to deliver naloxone.
The other site was a hospital where 20 opioid-free volunteers carried the devices and held their breath for 15 seconds to mimic the symptom of respiratory arrest. During this test, the devices injected a dose of naloxone when they felt that the person had not moved for at least 15 seconds.
Naloxone binds to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids if consumed. Blood was drawn from the participants after the shots were taken to make sure that the small dose of medicine had entered their bloodstream.
New research shows that the device works properly and delivers the right dose to a person’s bloodstream. However, more research is needed before researchers can apply for FDA approval. In addition, in addition to more tests on the safety and effectiveness of the devices, researchers need to know how comfortable the devices are to wear and whether they are hidden enough from the view that opioid addicts would like to wear them.
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