SynthesisBMC public health2025
Effectiveness of naloxone distribution in community settings to reduce opioid overdose deaths among people who use drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Approved Medications for Substance Use Disorders: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Completed Phase 3 Randomized Controlled Trials.CNS drugs · 2026Pooled it
- A Phase 1, Open-Label, Randomized Study to Investigate the Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Multiple Doses of Intranasal Naloxone in Healthy Participants.Clinical and translational science · 2026Trial
- Variation in knowledge and attitudes among overdose prevention collaborations: Insights from fatality review teams.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Article
- "Smart" harm reduction vending machines to improve public health: Evaluating the utilization.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- French National Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Opioids: Analgesia, Opioid Use Disorder, and Overdose Prevention-Part 2: Prevention and Management of Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose.Pain and therapy · 2026Article
- Safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic properties of intranasal artesunate in a first in human phase 1 trial.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- A scoping review of emergency department take-home naloxone on patient and health outcomes.CJEM · 2026Article
- Substance use treatment and overdose patterns in high and low social vulnerability counties: a trends analysis in New Jersey from 2014-2022.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Opioid-Induced Nodding-Not a Nice Nap.Acta scientific neurology · 2026Article
- Multilingual analysis of public discourse on opioid and non-opioid analgesics through social media: a cross-sectional infodemiological study.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Article
- Illicit drug supply, naloxone availability, and overdose mortality in the fentanyl era: a systematic review.Health affairs scholar · 2026Review
- Suzetrigine for Acute Pain in the Emergency Department: A First-in-Class NaV1.8 Blocker.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026Article
- A mixed-methods evaluation of a statewide naloxone distribution project: considerations for future implementation of opioid overdose prevention initiatives.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Applying the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to understand college health administrator perceptions on adopting and implementing opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs among universities nationally.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Xylazine test strip utilization among pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder: A pilot study.Pregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Harm reduction vending machines as safer supply-supporting infrastructure.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Suicidal ideation, mental health services, and barriers to care among syringe services program clients who use opioids.PloS one · 2026Article
- Effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of naloxone in carceral settings: a scoping review.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Use of low-threshold naloxone boxes for opioid overdose prevention in a Midwestern US State: a public health program evaluation.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- From fairytale to clinical practice: A response to commentaries.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt is estimated that over 111,000 people in the U.S. died from a drug overdose in the twelve-month period ending in July 2023. More than three-quarters of those deaths were attributed to opioids. Naloxone has long been available in healthcare facilities to reverse opioid overdose rapidly and safely but is not universally accessible for use in community settings where overdoses occur. We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs in three types of community settings to reduce overdose deaths among people who use opioids nonmedically.
methodsWe systematically searched electronic databases, including Medline (OVID), Embase (OVID), Psycinfo (OVID), and Global Health (OVID), for peer-reviewed studies of OEND programs published during 2003-2018 (Group 1) that reported overdose outcomes individual level survivals or deaths immediately following naloxone administration. The PRISMA checklist guided screening, quality assessment, and data abstraction. We later identified studies published during 2018-2022 (Group 2), when drug usage and fentanyl-related overdose deaths notably increased, differed from earlier ones. We conducted meta-analyses on both Groups using random effects models to estimate summary survival proportions.
resultsAmong the 44 Group 1 studies published during 2003-2018, survival did not differ by time (year), location, naloxone dose, or route of administration, but studies of OEND programs serving people who use drugs reported 98.3% (95% CI: 97.5-98.8) survival; those serving family of people who use drugs or other community members reported 95.0% (95% CI: 91.4-97.1) survival; and those for police reported 92.4% (95% CI: 88.9-94.8) survival (p < 0.01). Five Group 2 studies (2018-2022) yielded similar results.
conclusionsCommunity-based naloxone distribution programs can be effective in preventing opioid overdose deaths. The paper demonstrates that in the face of increasing overdose deaths over time, survival after naloxone administration has been sustained. The very high survival rates provide clear evidence for public health to continue efforts to expand channels for naloxone distribution in community settings.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.