Naloxone and Buprenorphine Treatment for Adolescent Opioid Overdose and Opioid Use Disorder

Harms from opioids are increasingly affecting adolescents with a notable rise in overdose fatalities in the past 5 years. Regulatory changes for naloxone and buprenorphine have occurred to improve access to both these medications. Despite these changes, adolescents continue to have low access to these life-saving interventions. Ensuring that clinicians have the knowledge to provide both medications to adolescents is a key step to addressing the epidemic of adolescent drug overdoses and reducing opioid-related harms.