Opioid overdose

Opioid overdose occurs when a person takes opioids in larger quantities than are physically tolerated.

Signs include central nervous system and respiratory depression, miosis, and apnoea.

The patient's history from bystanders/friends/family can assist diagnosis.

Initial treatment consists of ensuring adequate ventilation and consideration of the opioid antagonist naloxone.

Patients should be monitored for re-sedation and antidote dose repeated if necessary.

An opioid is any synthetic or natural agent that stimulates opioid receptors and produces opium-like effects. Opiates are opioids naturally derived from the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and include morphine and codeine. Synthetic opioids are substances synthesised in a laboratory that act on opioid receptors. Opioids are used in the treatment of pain but are often sold illicitly and misused for their euphoric effects. Misuse of synthetic opioids parallels that of heroin and prescription opioid analgesics.

An overdose occurs when larger quantities than physically tolerated are taken, resulting in central nervous system and respiratory depression, miosis, and apnoea, which can be fatal if not treated rapidly.

Many illicitly produced synthetic opioids are more potent than morphine and heroin and thus have the potential to result in a fatal overdose.[1]United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Synthetic opioids. Dec 2024 [internet publication].​ https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/synthetic-opioids