Display options
Cite
Cressman AM, Mazereeuw G, Guan Q, et al. Availability of naloxone in Canadian pharmacies:a population-based survey. CMAJ Open. 2017;5(4):E779-E784doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20170123.
Cressman, A. M., Mazereeuw, G., Guan, Q., Jia, W., Gomes, T., & Juurlink, D. N. (2017). Availability of naloxone in Canadian pharmacies:a population-based survey. CMAJ open, 5(4), E779-E784. https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20170123
Cressman, Alex M, et al. "Availability of naloxone in Canadian pharmacies:a population-based survey." CMAJ open vol. 5,4 (2017): E779-E784. doi: https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20170123
Cressman AM, Mazereeuw G, Guan Q, Jia W, Gomes T, Juurlink DN. Availability of naloxone in Canadian pharmacies:a population-based survey. CMAJ Open. 2017 Nov 08;5(4):E779-E784. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20170123. PMID: 29117991; PMCID: PMC5741422.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

CMAJ Open. 2017 Nov 08;5(4):E779-E784. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20170123.

Availability of naloxone in Canadian pharmacies:a population-based survey.

CMAJ open

Alex M Cressman, Graham Mazereeuw, Qi Guan, Wenting Jia, Tara Gomes, David N Juurlink

Affiliations

  1. Affiliations: Departments of Internal Medicine (Cressman) and Undergraduate Medical Education (Mazereeuw), Faculty of Medicine; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Guan), Dalla Lana School of Public Health; Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (Jia, Gomes), University of Toronto; Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital (Gomes); Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (Gomes, Juurlink); Sunnybrook Research Institute (Juurlink), Toronto, Ont.

PMID: 29117991 PMCID: PMC5741422 DOI: 10.9778/cmajo.20170123

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Naloxone is life-saving when administered after opioid overdose. In March 2016, the Canadian government made the antidote available without prescription, but anecdotal reports suggest members of the public have difficulty in procuring it. We examined the availability of naloxone in community pharmacies across Canada.

METHODS: We identified community pharmacies in Canada (

RESULTS: We contacted 429 community pharmacies. Of these, 103 (24.0%) had naloxone available. Availability was highest in British Columbia (33 of 65; 50.8%), followed by the Maritimes (12 of 35; 34.3%), Ontario (52 of 193; 26.9%) and central and northern Canada (5 of 21; 23.8%). In Quebec, 1 of 115 (0.9%) pharmacies had naloxone available. Of pharmacies without naloxone, fewer than 1 in 5 anticipated being able to provide it within 1 week (63 of 326; 19.3%).

INTERPRETATION: Most community pharmacies in Canada did not have naloxone on hand and in those without naloxone available, fewer than 1 in 5 anticipated being able to provide it within 1 week. Our findings emphasize the need for increased availability of naloxone in pharmacies across Canada.

Copyright 2017, Joule Inc. or its licensors.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: Dr. Gomes reports receiving grants from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for research unrelated to the present work.

References

  1. BMJ. 2017 Apr 26;357:j1550 - PubMed
  2. Addiction. 2014 Sep;109(9):1482-8 - PubMed
  3. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2012 Feb 17;61(6):101-5 - PubMed
  4. Pain Ther. 2015 Jun;4(1):89-105 - PubMed
  5. Pain Med. 2017 Mar 13;:null - PubMed
  6. Addiction. 2008 Jun;103(6):979-89 - PubMed
  7. Arch Intern Med. 2011 Apr 11;171(7):686-91 - PubMed
  8. Ann Intern Med. 2013 Jan 1;158(1):1-9 - PubMed
  9. CMAJ Open. 2014 Jul 22;2(3):E153-61 - PubMed
  10. CMAJ. 2008 Jul 29;179(3):245-52 - PubMed
  11. Healthc Q. 2011;14(1):22-4 - PubMed
  12. Pain. 2015 Apr;156(4):569-76 - PubMed
  13. BMJ. 2010 Oct 26;341:c5475 - PubMed
  14. N Engl J Med. 2017 Feb 16;376(7):663-673 - PubMed
  15. N Engl J Med. 2012 Jul 12;367(2):146-55 - PubMed
  16. Ann Intern Med. 2016 Jan 5;164(1):1-9 - PubMed
  17. Ann Intern Med. 2013 Nov 5;159(9):592-600 - PubMed
  18. J Gen Intern Med. 2017 Mar;32(3):291-295 - PubMed
  19. CMAJ. 2009 Dec 8;181(12):891-6 - PubMed
  20. JAMA Surg. 2017 Jun 21;152(6):e170504 - PubMed
  21. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017 Feb 1;171:107-116 - PubMed
  22. PLoS One. 2015 Aug 20;10(8):e0134550 - PubMed
  23. PLoS One. 2016 Dec 14;11(12 ):e0167479 - PubMed
  24. Ann Emerg Med. 2017 Mar;69(3):340-346 - PubMed
  25. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2015 Jun 19;64(23):631-5 - PubMed
  26. Science. 1976 Mar 5;191(4230):961-2 - PubMed
  27. BMJ. 2011 Aug 23;343:d5142 - PubMed
  28. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016 Jan 01;64(50-51):1378-82 - PubMed
  29. N Engl J Med. 2016 Dec 8;375(23 ):2213-2215 - PubMed
  30. Addiction. 2016 Jul;111(7):1177-87 - PubMed
  31. JAMA. 2016 Apr 19;315(15):1624-45 - PubMed
  32. J Clin Epidemiol. 2008 Apr;61(4):344-9 - PubMed
  33. Addiction. 2010 Nov;105(11):1962-70 - PubMed
  34. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Dec 8;112(49):15078-83 - PubMed
  35. Subst Abus. 2015 ;36(2):240-53 - PubMed
  36. Am J Public Health. 2009 May;99(5):788-91 - PubMed
  37. Acad Emerg Med. 2017 Jan;24(1):106-113 - PubMed
  38. BMJ. 2013 Jan 30;346:f174 - PubMed
  39. JAMA. 2011 Apr 6;305(13):1315-21 - PubMed
  40. N Engl J Med. 2015 Jan 15;372(3):241-8 - PubMed
  41. Pain Med. 2014 Oct;15(10):1765-70 - PubMed

Publication Types