Overdose deaths appear to have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 81,230 between June 2019 and May 2020, primarily driven by illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids.* A higher dose of naloxone may be required to revive a patient due to the stronger effect of illicitly manufactured fentanyl.†‡ 78% of overdose reversal attempts with Narcan® Nasal Spray involved ≥2 sprays.‡ The frequency of naloxone multi-dosing has been increasing.§

* Increase in Fatal Drug Overdoses Across the United States Driven by Synthetic Opioids Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00438.asp. Accessed June 25, 2023.
† Naloxone DrugFacts. National Institute on Drug Abuse website. Available at: https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/naloxone. Accessed June 25, 2023.
‡ Abdelal R, Banerjee A, Carlberg-Racich S, Darwaza N, Ito D, Shoaff J, Epstein J. Real-World Study of Multiple Naloxone Administration for Opioid Overdose Reversal Among Bystanders. JMCP. 2021;27(10-a):S54
§ Geiger et. al. 2019, “Who Receives Naloxone from Emergency Medical Services? Characteristics of Calls and Recent Trends,” Substance Abuse, 41:3, 400-407.