Patients who overdosed on nitazenes receive two or more naloxone doses since this is a subclass of synthetic opioids that may be more potent than fentanyl that is why patient is required to receive two or more naloxone doses.
Nitazenes May Be More Potent Than Fentanyl; Required to Receive Two or More Naloxone Doses
Nitazenes are synthetic opioids that are added to illegal substances like heroin that is why it is required to receive two or more naloxone doses. Nitazenes are synthetic opioids like fentanyl however they don’t share any structural similarities. However, both of these are among the groups of opioids that are being found in patients with opioid overdose in the emergency department at a rapid rate. 537 patients who had been admitted to the hospital for a possible overdose had their lab results examined by the researchers. Of those patients, they discovered that 9 tested positive solely for nitazenes required to receive two or more naloxone doses and that 11 only tested positive for fentanyl.
Naloxone a medicine that reverses a drug overdose, had to be receive two or more naloxone doses to individuals who had overdosed on nitazenes. Comparatively speaking, fentanyl overdose victims only needed one dosage of naloxone. The study also revealed that overall greater naloxene dosages and metonitazene overdoses were associated with cardiac arrests. In comparison to individuals who used other substances these patients also showed increased risks of cardiac arrest and mortality. They also mentioned that the chemical has been included into heroin and fentanyl and that its powder form might have a yellow, brown or off white appearance.
