survival was greatest when they used a combination of naloxone distribution, PrEP HIV prevention, and addiction treatment — the survival rate was more than 82.8 percent after 20 years. The next most efficient strategy was naloxone distribution plus HIV prevention at a comparably high 82.4 percent. Other combinations of the methods were slightly less successful than the combination with the highest rate of survival.
However, naloxone distribution, PrEP, and addiction treatment prevented the most HIV-related deaths, saving 21 lives in 20 years. Syringe programs caused more HIV-related deaths than standard treatments resulting in two additional fatalities in 20 years. The study suggested that the greater number of deaths in these cases associated with HIV can be explained by the higher number of overdose survivals from the naloxone strategy of treatment and prevention.
The combination of all three strategies also prevented the most overdose deaths, averting 149 fatalities (a 21 percent reduction) in the study’s 20-year period. PrEP and naloxone treatment averted 127 deaths (an 18 percent reduction). Finally, naloxone distribution and addiction treatment avoided 69 overdose deaths (a 10 percent reduction) and naloxone programs alone saved 44 deaths (a 6 percent reduction).
The results of the study suggested that the combination of all three treatment methods is the most effective. Though a combination of PrEP and naloxone treatment also produced good results, these combinations were not as effective.
Author: Ryan Beitler
An editor and contributor to Addiction Now, Ryan Beitler is a journalist, fiction writer, musician, and travel writer. He has written for Paste Magazine, OC Weekly, numerous addiction recovery publications, and his travel blog Our Little Blue Rock. He lives in Southern California. Contact Ryan at ryanrbeitler@gmail.com or ryanb@addictionnow.com.
