Use naloxone no matter what, health officials say

The Ohio Department of Health warned Wednesday that the number of deaths from mixtures of opioids and nonopioids is increasing. In response, it’s now recommending that naloxone be used even in overdoses where it’s unclear whether opioids are the culprit.

The department said preliminary data for 2017 show that deaths involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl continue to increase. Those involving mixtures of fentanyl and drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine also are increasing, the health department said.

The percentage of unintentional overdose deaths involving fentanyl rose from 58 percent in 2016 to 71 percent in 2017, the statement said. The same data show that the portion of overdose deaths involving cocaine and fentanyl or a fentanyl analogue rose from 15 percent in 2016 to 22 percent in 2017.

The Department of Health also noted increases in overdoses caused by combinations of opioids and other drugs.

That prompted this recommendation: “Even though naloxone is not effective in treating drug overdoses caused solely by stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines, the administration of naloxone may be helpful in drug overdoses caused by a combination of stimulants and opioids like fentanyl and its analogues.”

Nalaxone, which goes under the brand name of Narcan, reverses opioid overdoses by clearing the molecules away from opioid receptors in the brain and temporarily blocking more opioids from attaching.