If you are giving naloxone (Narcan) to a patient who is experiencing an apparent opioid overdose and it doesn’t seem to be working, should you give more? Not necessarily, according to Kelly Ramsey, MD, MPH, chief of medical services at the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports in Albany. Adding a second dose of naloxone because it “can’t hurt” is just one of many myths surrounding the overdose drug, Ramsey saidwho is also a board member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine but did not speak…
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Xylazine, or “tranq,” that makes fentanyl even more lethal is hitting the streets of Chicago, and Narcan won’t save those who use it
GARFIELD PARK Fentanyl’s death surge in Chicago has begun to slow, but the rise of another drug, xylazine, has officials worried that opioid deaths could skyrocket again. Chicago had the most fentanyl-related deaths in 2022, with the drug largely responsible for a spate of fatal opioid overdoses in recent years linked to 1,307 deaths in the city last year, up from 1,289 in 2021, according to doctors Cook County Lawyers Office. Fentanyl-related deaths have skyrocketed during the pandemic, leading to a record 2022 number, but that rise is starting to…
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