Towards evidence based emergency medicine: best BETs from the Manchester Royal Infirmary. BET 3: Is nebulised naloxone effective in opioid overdose?

A shortcut review was carried out to establish whether nebulised naloxone is a safe and effective alternative to intravenous naloxone in patients with suspected opioid overdose. 18 papers were found using the reported searches, of which two presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these papers are tabulated. It is concluded that nebulised naloxone is a safe and effective firstline alternative to parenteral naloxone in spontaneously breathing patients with suspected opioid overdose.