Addict, Heal Thy Self
-by David Hechim, SN
I’m a proponent of patient participation in their own care
plan. I’m a firm believer in the medical team helping a patient help
themselves. But the latest medical device to be released by Richmond, Virginia
based manufacturer, Kaleo Inc., seems to put this concept into the hands of
someone who may not be able to use it at all. Evzio, a hand-held auto-injector
that delivers a 0.4mg single dose of naloxone and will be available this
summer, according to medical journal reports. Naloxone, commonly called Narcan,
is a narcotic antagonist that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose and is the standard treatment. The Evzio device is available by prescription to patients, family members, and caregivers, for the known or suspected opioid overdose as manifested by respiratory and/or central nervous system depression. This device, when turned on, will give the user verbal and visual cues for instructions on how to administer the drug. In other words, when someone overdoses on an opioid and there are no family members or caregivers around, the person who’s central nervous system is now so severely depressed that they need a dose of Naloxone to bring them back from the brink of death… has to suddenly rely on audio and visual cues (functions that are partly, if not completely controlled by the central nervous system) to save their lives. But only if they have enough of their wits gathered to turn the device on.
is a narcotic antagonist that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose and is the standard treatment. The Evzio device is available by prescription to patients, family members, and caregivers, for the known or suspected opioid overdose as manifested by respiratory and/or central nervous system depression. This device, when turned on, will give the user verbal and visual cues for instructions on how to administer the drug. In other words, when someone overdoses on an opioid and there are no family members or caregivers around, the person who’s central nervous system is now so severely depressed that they need a dose of Naloxone to bring them back from the brink of death… has to suddenly rely on audio and visual cues (functions that are partly, if not completely controlled by the central nervous system) to save their lives. But only if they have enough of their wits gathered to turn the device on.
The FDA granted Evzio a fast track designation after a 30 patient
study showed that the device delivered an equivalent IM or SubQ dose of
naloxone, compared to a single injection given with a standard syringe.
Seems like a good idea. On paper. How many of those who
abuse opioids and get a doctor’s prescription for the Evzio device will die
with the device lying next to them… turned on or not…? Maybe the Evzio
marketers and the FDA haven’t necessarily thought this whole thing through.
References:
MPR.com
Business Insurance.com
FDA.gov
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