Background and Aims: Fatal outcome of opioid overdose, once detected, is preventable through timely administration of the antidote naloxone. Take‐home naloxone provision directly to opioid users for emergency use has been implemented recently in more than 15 countries worldwide, albeit mainly as pilot schemes and without formal evaluation. This systematic review assesses the effectiveness of take‐home naloxone, with two specific aims: (1) to study the impact of take‐home naloxone distribution on overdose‐related mortality; and (2) to assess the safety of take‐home naloxone in terms of adverse events.Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE and PsychINFO were searched for English‐language peer‐reviewed publications (randomized or observational trials) using the Boolean search query: (opioid OR opiate) AND overdose AND prevention. Evidence was evaluated using the nine Bradford Hill criteria for causation, devised to assess a potential causal relationship between public health interventions and clinical outcomes when only observational data are available.Results: A total of 1397 records (1164 after removal of duplicates) were retrieved, with 22 observational studies meeting eligibility criteria. Due to variability in size and quality of the included studies, meta‐analysis was dismissed in favour of narrative synthesis. From eligible studies, we found take‐home naloxone met all nine Bradford Hill criteria. The additional five World Health Organization criteria were all either met partially (two) or fully (three). Even with take‐home naloxone administration, fatal outcome was reported in one in 123 overdose cases (0.8%; 95% confidence interval = 0.4, 1.2).Conclusions: Take‐home naloxone programmes are found to reduce overdose mortality among programme participants and in the community and have a low rate of adverse events.

Background and Objectives: The COVID‐19 pandemic and control measures may have increased the risk of abusing addictive substances as well as addictive behaviors.Methods: We present an initial online survey in 6416 Chinese about the relation between the COVID‐19 pandemic and addictive behavior in China.Results: During the COVID‐19 pandemic, 46.8% of the subjects reported increased dependence on internet use, and 16.6% had longer hours of internet use. The prevalence (4.3%) of severe internet dependence rose up to 23% than that (3.5%) before the COVID‐19 pandemic occurred, and their dependence degree rose 20 times more often than being declined (60% vs 3%). Relapses to abuse from alcohol and smoking abstinence were relatively common at 19% and 25%, respectively. Similarly, 32% of regular alcohol drinkers and 20% of regular smokers increased their usage amount during the pandemic.Conclusion and Scientific Significance: These three coping behaviors (internet, alcohol, and smoking) during this COVID‐19‐related crisis appear to have increased the risk for substance use disorders and internet addiction. (Am J Addict 2020;00:00–00)

People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population affected by the global HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemics. HIV and HCV prevention interventions for PWID include needle and syringe programmes (NSP), opioid substitution therapy (OST), HIV counselling and testing, HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART), and condom distribution programmes. We aimed to produce country-level, regional, and global estimates of coverage of NSP, OST, HIV testing, ART, and condom programmes for PWID. We completed searches of peer-reviewed (MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO), internet, and grey literature databases, and disseminated data requests via social media and targeted emails to international experts. Programme and survey data on each of the named interventions were collected. Programme data were used to derive country-level estimates of the coverage of interventions in accordance with indicators defined by WHO, UNAIDS, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Regional and global estimates of NSP, OST, and HIV testing coverage were also calculated. The protocol was registered on PROSPERO, number CRD42017056558. In 2017, of 179 countries with evidence of injecting drug use, some level of NSP services were available in 93 countries, and there were 86 countries with evidence of OST implementation. Data to estimate NSP coverage were available for 57 countries, and for 60 countries to estimate OST coverage. Coverage varied widely between countries, but was most often low according to WHO indicators (200 needle-syringes distributed per PWID and >40 OST recipients per 100 PWID). Coverage of HIV and HCV prevention interventions for PWID remains poor and is likely to be insufficient to effectively prevent HIV and HCV transmission. Scaling up of interventions for PWID remains a crucial priority for halting the HIV and HCV epidemics. Open Society Foundations, The Global Fund, WHO, UNAIDS, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Australian National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales Sydney.