Work

Value for money in reducing opioid-related deaths

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: During the past decade, overlapping epidemics of opioid overdose deaths have occurred in the USA. A steep increase in overdose deaths caused by pharmaceutical opioids during the past 15 years1 has been followed more recently by a new epidemic of heroin overdose deaths.2 Opioid overdose deaths have been a major contributor to the reversal in life expectancy of middle-aged white people in the USA,3 and opioids cause the greatest loss of life from fatal drug overdoses worldwide.4 Opioid overdose deaths can be prevented by engaging opioid-dependent people in methadone or buprenorphine substitution treatment, and distributing the opioid antagonist naloxone to enable bystanders to reverse opioid overdoses.

Source: The Lancet Public Health

DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(17)30027-0

Authors: Wayne Hall, John Strang

Institutions: The University of Queensland, King's College London

Language: English

Topic: Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $6,680