Narcan (Naloxona) Intranasal ahora es OTC. Narcan (Naloxone) Intranasal is now OTC

Nasal Narcan

Hoy, la FDA anuncia que Emergent BioSolutions está ampliando la vida útil de los productos en aerosol nasal NARCAN de 4 mg recién fabricados de tres a cuatro años:

Today, FDA is announcing that Emergent BioSolutions is extending the shelf-life of newly manufactured NARCAN 4mg Nasal Spray products from three years to four years: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-announces-shelf-life-extension-naloxone-nasal-spray

This shelf-life extension applies only to NARCAN (4 mg) nasal spray products produced following today.

This action was taken to prevent overdoses and reduce overdose-related deaths by expanding access to naloxone and other overdose reversal agents.

La FDA aprueba el primer aerosol nasal de naloxona de venta libre

La agencia continúa tomando medidas críticas para reducir las muertes por sobredosis de drogas provocadas principalmente por opioides ilícitos

March 29, 2023

English

Hoy, la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de los Estados Unidos (FDA, por sus siglas en inglés) aprobó Narcan, un aerosol nasal de clorhidrato de naloxona de 4 miligramos (mg), para uso de venta libre, sin receta médica; es el primer producto de naloxona aprobado para su uso sin prescripción. La naloxona es un medicamento que revierte rápidamente los efectos de una sobredosis de opioides y es el tratamiento acostumbrado para la sobredosis de opioides. La acción de hoy cimienta el camino para que este medicamento que salva vidas revierta una sobredosis de opioides y se venda directamente a los consumidores en lugares como farmacias, tiendas de conveniencia, supermercados y gasolineras, así como en línea. 

El plazo para la disponibilidad y el precio de este producto de venta libre lo determina el fabricante. La FDA trabajará con todas las partes interesadas para ayudar a facilitar la disponibilidad constante de productos de aerosol nasal de naloxona durante el tiempo necesario para efectuar el cambio de que Narcan pase a ser un medicamento que requiere receta médica a uno de venta libre, lo que puede tardar meses. Otras formulaciones y dosis de naloxona permanecerán disponibles solo con receta médica. 

La sobredosis de drogas persiste como un importante problema de salud pública en los Estados Unidos, con más de 101,750 sobredosis fatales reportadas que ocurrieron en el período de 12 meses que finalizó en octubre de 2022, causadas principalmente por opioides sintéticos como el fentanilo ilícito. 

“La FDA mantiene su compromiso de ocuparse de las complejidades cambiantes de la crisis de sobredosis. Como parte de este trabajo, la agencia ha utilizado su autoridad normativa para facilitar un mayor acceso a la naloxona al alentar el desarrollo y la aprobación de un producto de naloxona de venta libre para responder a la urgente necesidad de salud pública”, afirmó el comisionado de la FDA, el doctor Robert M. Califf. “La aprobación de hoy del aerosol nasal de naloxona de venta libre ayudará a mejorar el acceso a la naloxona, aumentará la cantidad de lugares donde está disponible y ayudará a reducir las muertes por sobredosis de opioides en todo el país. Animamos al fabricante a que priorice la accesibilidad al producto, haciéndolo disponible lo antes posible y a un precio accesible”.  

El aerosol nasal Narcan fue aprobado por primera vez por la FDA en 2015 como medicamento recetado. De acuerdo con un proceso para cambiar el estado de un medicamento de venta con receta a venta sin receta, el fabricante proporcionó datos que demuestran que el medicamento es seguro y eficaz para su uso según las indicaciones de la etiqueta propuesta. El fabricante también demostró que los consumidores pueden entender cómo usar el medicamento de manera segura y eficaz sin la supervisión de un profesional de la salud. La solicitud para aprobar el aerosol nasal Narcan para uso de venta libre recibió el estado de revisión prioritaria y fue objeto de una reunión del comité asesor en febrero de 2023, donde los miembros del comité votaron unánimemente para recomendar que se aprobara para su comercialización sin receta. 

La aprobación del aerosol nasal Narcan de venta libre requerirá un cambio en la etiqueta de los productos genéricos de aerosol nasal de naloxona de 4 mg actualmente aprobados que dependen de Narcan como su producto farmacéutico de referencia. Los fabricantes de estos productos deberán presentar un complemento a sus solicitudes para cambiar efectivamente sus productos al estado de venta libre. La aprobación también puede afectar el estado de otras marcas de aerosol nasal de naloxona de 4 mg o inferior, pero las determinaciones se realizarán caso por caso y la FDA puede comunicarse con otras empresas según sea necesario. 

El uso del aerosol nasal Narcan en personas que son dependientes de los opioides puede provocar una abstinencia grave de los opioides caracterizada por dolores corporales, diarrea, aumento de la frecuencia cardíaca (taquicardia), fiebre, moqueo, estornudos, piel de gallina, sudoración, bostezos, náuseas o vómitos, nerviosismo, inquietud o irritabilidad, escalofríos o temblores, calambres abdominales, debilidad y aumento de la presión arterial.

“La naloxona es una herramienta clave para abordar las sobredosis de opioides y la aprobación de hoy destaca los amplios esfuerzos que la agencia ha realizado para combatir la crisis de sobredosis”, expresó la doctora Patrizia Cavazzoni, directora del Centro de Evaluación e Investigación de Medicamentos de la FDA. “La FDA trabaja con nuestros colaboradores federales a fin de garantizar el acceso continuo a naloxona en todas sus presentaciones durante la transición de este producto del estado de venta con receta al estado de venta sin receta a de venta libre. Además, trabajaremos con cualquier patrocinador que busque comercializar un producto de naloxona sin receta, incluso a través de un cambio de venta con receta a de venta libre, y exhortaremos a los fabricantes a comunicarse con la agencia lo antes posible para iniciar conversaciones”.

La FDA ha adoptado una serie de medidas para ayudar a facilitar el acceso a los productos de naloxona. En noviembre de 2022, la agencia anunció su evaluación preliminar de que ciertos productos de naloxona, como el que finalmente se aprobó hoy, tienen el potencial de ser seguros y eficaces para su uso sin receta y animó a los patrocinadores a presentar solicitudes. para la aprobación de productos de naloxona de venta libre. La agencia anunció previamente en 2019 que había diseñado, probado y validado un modelo de etiqueta de información del medicamento (DFL, por sus siglas en inglés) de naloxona con pictogramas fáciles de entender sobre cómo usar el medicamento para alentar a los fabricantes a buscar la aprobación de productos de naloxona de venta libre. La DFL modelo se utilizó para respaldar la solicitud aprobada junto con los resultados de un estudio de validación de factores humanos de uso simulado diseñado para evaluar si todos los componentes del producto con los que un usuario interactuaría podrían usarse de manera segura y eficaz según lo previsto.

A través del Marco de prevención de sobredosis de la FDA, la agencia sigue enfocada en responder a todas las facetas del consumo de sustancias, el consumo indebido, los trastornos por consumo de sustancias, las sobredosis y la muerte en los Estados Unidos. Las prioridades del marco incluyen: apoyar la prevención primaria al eliminar la exposición inicial innecesaria a medicamentos recetados y la prescripción prolongada inapropiada; fomentar la reducción de daños a través de la innovación y la educación; avanzar en el desarrollo de tratamientos basados en evidencia para los trastornos por consumo de sustancias; y proteger al público de medicamentos no aprobados, desviados o falsificados que presenten riesgos de sobredosis.

 

La FDA otorgó la aprobación de venta libre de Narcan a Emergent BioSolutions.

Fuente https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/la-fda-aprueba-el-primer-aerosol-nasal-de-naloxona-de-venta-libre

FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray

Agency Continues to Take Critical Steps to Reduce Drug Overdose Deaths Being Driven Primarily by Illicit Opioids

Read at FDA in english 

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan, 4 milligram (mg) naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray for over-the-counter (OTC), nonprescription, use – the first naloxone product approved for use without a prescription. Naloxone is a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose and is the standard treatment for opioid overdose. Today’s action paves the way for the life-saving medication to reverse an opioid overdose to be sold directly to consumers in places like drug stores, convenience stores, grocery stores and gas stations, as well as online. 

The timeline for availability and price of this OTC product is determined by the manufacturer. The FDA will work with all stakeholders to help facilitate the continued availability of naloxone nasal spray products during the time needed to implement the Narcan switch from prescription to OTC status, which may take months. Other formulations and dosages of naloxone will remain available by prescription only. 

Drug overdose persists as a major public health issue in the United States, with more than 101,750 reported fatal overdoses occurring in the 12-month period ending in October 2022, primarily driven by synthetic opioids like illicit fentanyl. 

“The FDA remains committed to addressing the evolving complexities of the overdose crisis. As part of this work, the agency has used its regulatory authority to facilitate greater access to naloxone by encouraging the development of and approving an over-the-counter naloxone product to address the dire public health need,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. “Today’s approval of OTC naloxone nasal spray will help improve access to naloxone, increase the number of locations where it’s available and help reduce opioid overdose deaths throughout the country. We encourage the manufacturer to make accessibility to the product a priority by making it available as soon as possible and at an affordable price.”   

Narcan nasal spray was first approved by the FDA in 2015 as a prescription drug. In accordance with a process to change the status of a drug from prescription to nonprescription, the manufacturer provided data demonstrating that the drug is safe and effective for use as directed in its proposed labeling. The manufacturer also showed that consumers can understand how to use the drug safely and effectively without the supervision of a healthcare professional. The application to approve Narcan nasal spray for OTC use was granted priority review status and was the subject of an advisory committee meeting in February 2023, where committee members voted unanimously to recommend it be approved for marketing without a prescription. 

The approval of OTC Narcan nasal spray will require a change in the labeling for the currently approved 4 mg generic naloxone nasal spray products that rely on Narcan as their reference listed drug product. Manufacturers of these products will be required to submit a supplement to their applications to effectively switch their products to OTC status. The approval may also affect the status of other brand-name naloxone nasal spray products of 4 mg or less, but determinations will be made on a case-by-case basis and the FDA may contact other firms as needed. 

The use of Narcan nasal spray in individuals who are opioid dependent may result in severe opioid withdrawal characterized by body aches, diarrhea, increased heart rate (tachycardia), fever, runny nose, sneezing, goose bumps, sweating, yawning, nausea or vomiting, nervousness, restlessness or irritability, shivering or trembling, abdominal cramps, weakness and increased blood pressure.

“Naloxone is a critical tool in addressing opioid overdoses and today’s approval underscores the extensive efforts the agency has undertaken to combat the overdose crisis,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “The FDA is working with our federal partners to help ensure continued access to all forms of naloxone during the transition of this product from prescription status to nonprescription/OTC status. Further, we will work with any sponsor seeking to market a nonprescription naloxone product, including through an Rx to OTC switch, and encourage manufacturers to contact the agency as early as possible to initiate discussions.”

The FDA has taken a series of measures to help facilitate access to naloxone products. In November 2022, the agency announced its preliminary assessment that certain naloxone products, such as the one ultimately approved today, have the potential to be safe and effective for over-the-counter use and encouraged sponsors to submit applications for approval of OTC naloxone products. The agency previously announced in 2019 that it had designed, tested, and validated a model naloxone Drug Facts Label (DFL) with easy-to-understand pictograms on how to use the drug to encourage manufacturers to pursue approval of OTC naloxone products. The model DFL was used to support the approved application along with the results of a simulated use Human Factors validation study designed to assess whether all the components of the product with which a user would interact could be used safely and effectively as intended.

Through the FDA Overdose Prevention Framework, the agency remains focused on responding to all facets of substance use, misuse, substance use disorders, overdose and death in the U.S. The framework’s priorities include: supporting primary prevention by eliminating unnecessary initial prescription drug exposure and inappropriate prolonged prescribing; encouraging harm reduction through innovation and education; advancing development of evidence-based treatments for substance use disorders; and protecting the public from unapproved, diverted or counterfeit drugs presenting overdose risks.

 

The FDA granted the OTC approval of Narcan to Emergent BioSolutions. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-over-counter-naloxone-nasal-spray

Study: New York EMTs Giving Intranasal Narcan Doses 

Information from EMSWORLD

Tania Lopez
Source: Newsday
Created: September 20, 2012

Until now, the drug overdose antidote was only administered by ALS providers.

Sept. 20--A pilot program that aims to put a drug-overdose antidote in the hands of thousands of Suffolk EMTs has saved 23 lives in its first 10 weeks, a county official said. All of those people were found unconscious -- most barely breathing -- before being revived with naloxone hydrochloride, said Tom Lateulere, education and training chief for the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council.

The antidote, also known as Narcan, is administered through the nose to reverse the effects of heroin and other opiates.

"We have had phenomenal success with intranasal administration of this medication with no less than dramatic lifesaving incidents," said Dr. Scott Coyne, the police department medical director.

Expanded use of Narcan comes at a time when fatal opiate overdoses in Suffolk have nearly doubled -- jumping from 119 in 2010 to 217 last year, according to the county medical examiner's office. In the first three months of this year, 53 overdose deaths have been reported.

EMS council director Bob Delagi said the health department wanted to get Narcan in the hands of all emergency personnel as far back as 2009, but policies allowed only advanced-level EMTs to administer drugs requiring intravenous or intramuscular injection.

Under the pilot program sponsored by the state, EMTs with basic training can give Narcan, now available in intranasal doses.

So far, 1,083 EMTs out of the 5,000 registered countywide have been taught how to administer the antidote since the program was approved in May.

There are 21 ambulance service companies participating in the program. About 400 police officers in the Fourth, Sixth and Seventh precincts, and the Marine Bureau, have also been trained. All Suffolk officers are EMTs.

On July 1, the first day of the program's full launch, officials announced that a 27-year-old Mastic Beach man had been saved by police equipped with Narcan from a potentially fatal overdose. Since then, officials said police have saved eight more lives with the drug.

EMTs serving as volunteers with the ambulance companies saved the other 14 people. Further details on the revived individuals, including ages and sex, were not released.

Nassau County EMTs administer Narcan through the police department's ambulance service.

The overdose-halting drug is increasingly being used around the country and has no serious side-effects, medical experts say.

Suffolk's pilot program has a supporter in Liam Gibson, 43, a recovering heroin addict from Ronkonkoma, who said he has been straight for five years.

Gibson said he used to show up at his construction job high and finally made up his mind to kick the habit. He now works for a New York City nonprofit that helps addicts.

It's about time more was done to respond to the addiction crisis on Long Island, Gibson said.

"There will always be an epidemic out there," he said. "Drug abuse is not going to stop."

Copyright 2012 - Newsday

Related Information

Intranasal Drug Administration: An Innovative Approach to Traditional Care

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Intranasal Drug Administration EMSWORLD

How to give nasal spray narcan

Intranasal Drug Administration: An Innovative Approach to Traditional Care 

 Information from EMSWORLD

by Kevin T. Collopy, BA, FP-C, CCEMT-P, NREMT-P, WEMT and Scott R. Snyder, BS, NREMT-P
Created: April 5, 2011

Intranasal drug administration offers all levels of EMS providers a safe and effective alternative for drug delivery

Emergency medical providers across the country use a variety of drugs to help manage patients in the prehospital setting. Depending on each service’s region and level of care, the number of drugs available to a given provider can range from as few as five to as many as 100. As prehospital care grows and expands, medical directors, EMTs, paramedics and managers are all looking for ways to grow the quality of care delivered prior to emergency department arrival. Improving the quality of care does not always mean expanding someone’s scope of practice by adding more interventions and more drugs to a provider’s toolbox. It can also mean finding new ways to deliver current interventions more efficiently and safely. Previously, this has included the transition to needleless intravenous (IV) line med-ports, auto-retracting IV needles, utilization of emergency medical dispatch to eliminate the unnecessary use of lights and sirens, and the ever-changing tweaks to cardiopulmonary (perhaps soon to be called cardiocerebral) resuscitation.

This continuing education article will discuss intranasal drug administration—a delivery route that has not seen widespread EMS utilization, but which offers all levels of EMS providers a safe and effective alternative for drug delivery in a variety of emergency settings.

Intranasal Drugs

The idea of intranasal (IN) drug administration is not completely new. An article in the April 2007 issue of EMS Magazine by Rob Curran called for its widespread introduction and use.1 Curran cited then-recent research that suggested IN drug administration was safe and could be nearly as effective as IV administration; however, to date, widespread use has not caught on. While there are a variety of reasons that could be argued, probably the most simple is that EMS as a system can be slow to change. Another reason is that the administration of intranasal drugs is considered off-label, since few drugs have been specifically presented to the FDA for approval via the intranasal route. Remember, though, many drugs used in emergency medicine are considered off-label. Since Curran’s article, more research has been completed on both understanding how IN drug administration works and what drugs are effective via the IN route.

The nasal cavity has two primary functions: olfaction, or sense of smell, and warming, humidifying and filtering the air we breathe. It is the latter function that is important when discussing intranasal drug administration. Inside the nasal cavities are turbinates, which are highly vascular and convoluted passageways lined with a warm, moist mucosal layer. The moist mucosal layer moisturizes air as it passes though the turbinates, and the dense capillary beds allow heat transfer into the air. Additionally, the highly vascular turbinates allow for rapid drug absorption into the bloodstream because the capillaries within the turbinates are specifically designed to allow the rapid shift of fluids (medicines) across the capillary membranes. Turbinates increase the nasal mucosal surface area from what would likely be only a few square inches to over 180 cm2.2

Intranasal drug administration, like intravenous administration, avoids first-pass metabolism by allowing drugs to enter directly into systemic circulation rather than requiring them to be absorbed through the GI tract and filtered by the liver. When a drug is absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, it must pass through the liver prior to entering central circulation. When a drug passes through the liver, it is filtered. Liver filtration leads to a portion of the drug dose being metabolized into waste before it can be beneficial for the patient. Intravenous drug administration, like intranasal drug administration, avoids first-pass metabolism by introducing the drug directly into the central circulation. Avoiding first-pass metabolism increases the amount of drug that can benefit the body, because first-pass metabolism is a process by which the drug’s serum concentration is greatly decreased as it passes through the liver for the first time.
Drugs in central circulation are still eventually metabolized by the liver into other chemicals. The goal of therapeutic drug administration is to have enough of the drug remaining after it circulates through the liver so the drug is beneficial to the patient. Because the nasal mucosa is so close to the central nervous system, drugs given IN have an opportunity to reach their target organ, which is often the brain, prior to being exposed to first-pass metabolism.
Additionally, the olfactory tissues relay sense of smell signals directly to the central nervous system. Olfactory mucosa is on the superior aspect of the nasal cavity and actually extends through the skull’s cribiform plate and into the cranial cavity. When drugs impact this olfactory mucosa, they are absorbed directly through these tissues into the cranial cavity and are diffused in the cerebral spinal fluid. This pathway allows for the rapid onset of drugs that impact the central nervous system and also allows drugs to bypass the blood-brain barrier.2

Delivery Methods

There are three primary methods for drug delivery to the IN route. Many EMS providers have managed patients who have snorted drugs like cocaine. While inhaling dry powder is a method for delivering drugs to the nasal mucosa, crushing up and snorting medications is not routinely recommended, as there is little control over the actual amount of medication delivered, and it should not be employed by prehospital providers.
Another delivery method is with a syringe and dropper; the syringe can double as the dropper. With this method, a specific drug amount can be drawn up using the syringe, which allows for precise drug dosing. However, to properly deliver the drug using this method, drops of the medication must be delivered onto the mucosa one at a time. Delivering the drops too fast will cause the drug to drip into the back of the throat and it will not be absorbed into the bloodstream. Proper delivery also requires that the patient be positioned with their head tilted backward so the medicine drips through the turbinates and not back out of the nose. This can pose a problem with patients who cannot lie still with their head backward—particularly seizing patients, children and noncooperative patients. For years this was the preferred nasal delivery system and is one reason IN delivery did not become popular.
Syringe and atomizer devices have been developed over the past several years and have drastically simplified the delivery route. Spray-tipped atomizers can be attached onto syringes and break the drug into fine particles. These particles more broadly distribute the medication across the nasal mucosa, which increases the drug’s bioavailability compared to the syringe and dropper method. Bioavailability refers to the amount of drug that actually makes it into the bloodstream and is available to the body. There is an increased bioavailability because the atomizer reduces the loss of drug droplets into the back of the throat. Also, with an atomizer the drug can be delivered with the patient’s head in any position; it does not have to be tilted backward like with the syringe and dropper. deally, intranasal medications administered by prehospital providers should be administered with an atomizer device. However, even with these devices, there are a few keys to delivery to keep in mind:2

• Use as highly concentrated a form of the drug as possible
• Limit the fluid volume delivered to a nostril to 1 mL or less
• Divide the total amount of fluid to be delivered evenly between both nostrils
• Atomizers may have “dead space” within them and should be flushed with saline to deliver all of the medication
• Allow 15 minutes before administering subsequent intranasal doses.
  
  The intranasal drug route is more than just an administration route. There are unique benefits for IN delivery. The anatomy of the nasal mucosa allows for rapid drug absorption, and its location allows drugs to be delivered directly into the bloodstream and bypass the blood-brain barrier, all without the need for establishing IV access. Bypassing the blood-brain barrier allows many drugs to more rapidly benefit the patient by speeding their action on the central nervous system. This is particularly beneficial when administering benzodiazepines for patients experiencing seizures.
  Another benefit of the route is its safety. No needles are needed, such as with IV, subcutaneous and intramuscular drug delivery. The absence of needles increases provider safety, particularly when the need arises to administer drugs to combative or seizing patients. Eliminating needles decreases the chances of accidental needlesticks both on scene and while managing patients during transport.
  The disadvantage to intranasal drug delivery is that a limited number of drugs can be delivered to the nasal mucosa. Not every drug used by prehospital providers can be atomized for absorption and provide the same intended effects. Additionally, patients with diseased or unhealthy nasal mucosa, such as from long-term drug abuse or cancer, will likely have impaired drug absorption, as their turbinates can be destroyed or damaged from disease processes. Foreign debris, such as blood and other fluids in the nasal cavity, can also impair drug absorption.
  Intranasal drug administration has a variety of beneficial prehospital indications, including pain management, seizure control, narcotic drug reversal and hypoglycemia management.
  

  Pain Management

  A great deal of research has demonstrated that pain control can be obtained through intranasal drug administration in a safe and effective manner with few side-effects.2 There are a variety of different pain medication choices, including opiates and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs that provide analgesia and can be administered intranasally.
  One of the most serious concerns with opiate drug administration is the potential for significant respiratory depression leading to hypoxia. However, the slower absorption of IN drugs, compared to IV administration, is enough of a delay that the risk of respiratory depression decreases significantly. When a drug is administered at the recommended intranasal dose, which is 1.5–2 times the IV dose, respiratory depression does not occur.3,4 Additionally, despite the slower absorption rate, the time saved by eliminating the need for IV access actually allows for the patient to experience a drug’s effects faster.5
  

  Analgesic Options

  Recently, ketorolac (Toradol) was FDA-approved for intranasal administration. Ketorolac is a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug that is effective in managing short-term moderate and severe pain. When given via IV, it has near-immediate onset, with full effect reached in 20–45 minutes, and has a half-life of 6–8 hours. When administered intranasally, ketorolac has the same onset and half-life. In one study, ketorolac was found to reduce the need for opiate analgesia when 30 mg was administered intranasally.6 This represents great potential benefit for EMS providers. Since ketorolac does not have any of the side-effects opiate drugs have, including hypotension and potential respiratory depression, it may be a reasonable drug for basic and intermediate life support providers to administer intranasally. By decreasing the number of patients requiring opiates for analgesia, fewer patients require intravenous access for analgesia, and fewer needles means increased safety. Ketorolac also does not have the addictive property of opioids, which decreases the potential for provider theft and misuse.
  Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid analgesic that has a shorter duration and half-life than morphine. It is associated with less cardiac instability than morphine, but otherwise functions similarly and has effects on the body nearly identical to morphine and is effective in treating moderate to severe pain. The typical IN dose for fentanyl is 2–4 micrograms per kilogram. Remember, intranasal doses are 1.5–2 times normal doses.
  

  A team led by Australian ambulance researcher Paul Middleton compared the effectiveness of IV morphine to IN fentanyl and inhaled methoxyflurane for prehospital analgesia and found that IV morphine dosed initially at 5 mg and repeated at 2.5–5mg every 2 minutes was slightly more effective than an initial IN dose of 240 micrograms of fentanyl. Both were significantly more effective than methoxyflurane. Prior to beginning the study, the researchers noted that IN absorption rates of fentanyl can be variable. To control this they limited IN fentanyl doses to 90 micrograms (0.3 mL) per medication atomization per nostril. Subsequent doses of 60–90 micrograms were given every 5 minutes as needed. Results demonstrated that while IV morphine was more effective, IN fentanyl does not require IV access and can be administered more rapidly. Further, when a statistical analysis was performed, morphine was not statistically more effective than IN fentanyl for total pain control, which in practical terms means the drugs provide equivalent relief. Morphine was, however, more effective for a greater number of patients.7 This study demonstrated that intranasal fentanyl provides analgesia as effectively as intravenous morphine. Also, no untoward effects were observed during the study period, helping to demonstrate that IN fentanyl is safe as well.
  Interestingly, both fentanyl and morphine failed to adequately control pain in nearly 20% of patients who received the drugs. This truly signals an area for improvement in prehospital pain management and suggests the need for advanced providers to have multiple analgesic medicines available, with the ability to switch medicines when the first is not working.
  Another study compared morphine and fentanyl for safety and effectiveness and found that both produced similar pain control; however, more fentanyl was required compared to morphine to achieve the same level of pain control when doses were standardized. This study used 5 mg morphine as equivalent to 50 mcg fentanyl. Fentanyl was associated with fewer adverse effects, 6.6% to 9.9%, with nausea being the most common adverse effect for both medicines. The researchers also concluded that both medicines provide adequate prehospital analgesia with low rates of side-effects.8
  

  Seizure Control

  Traditionally, prehospital providers manage status epilepticus with rectal diazepam when IV access cannot be obtained. Our anecdotal experiences support the claim that rectal diazepam does not always provide seizure control. A 2007 study compared administration of rectal diazepam to intranasal midazolam (Versed) for management of prehospital pediatric seizures. This study found that IN midazolam achieved 100% seizure control compared to 78% for rectal diazepam. Diazepam was also associated with a 33% intubation rate, while no patients managed with midazolam required intubation.9 The researchers determined that IN midazolam was more effective in seizure control, was safer to administer, faster, and more socially acceptable than rectal diazepam administration. This study does not compare intravenous diazepam administration to IN midazolam. When an IV is already in place, IV benzodiazepines remain the gold standard for seizure management. However, when no IV is in place, as when prehospital providers arrive on scene, it is just as safe and faster to attempt IN drug administration than to attempt IV access in an actively seizing patient.
  One study released in February 2011 compared IN and IV lorazepam for seizure management in pediatric patients. Using the same drug for both administration routes allowed researchers to directly compare administration routes. Results demonstrated that from the time the drug is given there is no statistical difference in the time it takes to terminate seizures between IV and IN lorazepam. The researchers also noted that there was a delay (median 4 minutes) to establish IV access for IV lorazepam administration, while there is no delay for IN administration.10
  This study demonstrates that the overall fastest time from recognizing status epilepticus to termination with drugs can be achieved with administration of intranasal benzodiazepines when an IV is not already in place. A patient can rapidly become hypoxic during a seizure, and rapid seizure termination is essential. Research now shows there is a faster method to achieve this, and it is important to consider implementing this into prehospital seizure management.
  

  Narcotic Overdose

  Patients who overdose on narcotic-based drugs can range from the chronic IV drug abuser or experimenting teenager to an elderly woman who mismanages her pain medications. At times, it can be very difficult to establish IV access on these patients, and some can be quite combative, creating a situation where introducing an IV needle is unsafe. Additionally, narcotic overdose can cause serious respiratory depression leading to hypoxia. It is not uncommon for patients who overdosed on narcotics to require ventilations. Fortunately, this respiratory depression can be rapidly reversed with the administration of naloxone, which is an opioid antagonist that blocks the opioid receptor sites in the central nervous system. Traditionally, 0.4–2 mg of naloxone is given intravenously; however, it can also be given IN when no IV is available.
  

  The difference between effects of IN and IV naloxone was recently studied. This study looked at the time from patient contact until respiratory depression was reversed for the two administration routes. The researchers found that the total time from patient contact to clinical response was shorter when naloxone was given IN. The time from administration to response is faster with IV administration, but this was an expected result. Additionally, they felt that IN administration was safer because the need for needle use around a drug abuser is eliminated.5
  During a 2002 prospective study of 30 patients in Denver, IN naloxone was evaluated as a first-line agent for prehospital narcotic overdose. This study found that 91% of patients responded to IN naloxone alone, and 64% did not require prehospital IV access.11 This study raises debate over the potential benefit for basic life support providers to have a prefilled syringe of naloxone available for IN administration to patients with respiratory depression following opioid overdose. Currently, New Mexico allows BLS providers, police officers and family members of known addicts to carry naloxone for IN administration. Boston EMS also provides its BLS providers with IN naloxone.2
  

  Hypoglycemia Management

  When prehospital providers cannot establish IV access for dextrose administration to patients experiencing hypoglycemia, their options include oral glucose or administration of glucagon. Oral glucose, as is well known, cannot be given when patients lack the ability to swallow (although it can be applied along the gum line and absorbed buccally in extreme situations).
  Traditionally, glucagon is given as a 2 mg intramuscular injection; it can also be administered intranasally (2 mg IN is comparable to 1 mg intramuscular glucagon). Several studies have demonstrated that intramuscular glucagon produces a faster and larger rise in blood glucose levels than IN glucagon.2 Thus, when providers are properly trained, IM glucagon is preferred. First responders, however, can benefit from having a needleless system available for glucagon administration in unresponsive hypoglycemic patients. Additionally, IN glucagon may be beneficial in some unique circumstances. One example is when a patient is hypothermic and has poor peripheral circulation. Administering an IM drug to that patient would cause an extremely delayed drug response. Other examples of situations where nasal administration may be preferred include when a patient is contaminated and an adequate site cannot be cleaned, when a patient is combative, or when, because of extenuating circumstances, clothing cannot be removed to access an IM administration site.
  

  Summary

  Intranasal drug administration is safe and effective and has many applications to prehospital providers of all levels. Administered drugs do take longer to take effect than drugs administered intravenously; however, the time saved by not needing to establish an IV offsets this difference. When evaluating your system’s protocols, consider adding IN drug administration, and particularly consider its benefit in patients who may be seizing, hypoglycemic, experiencing a narcotic overdose or in pain.
  
  Related Information 
  

  Study: New York EMTs Giving Intranasal Narcan Doses