SAVING LIVES
You’re called to a home that’s brightly lit. You park the rig between layers of cars. Music is blasting as you enter. Half the crowd of young adults is still partying. There is another group of teens kneeling over a young male lying on the ground.
You manage to push the crowd back a bit and kneel next to him, he is unresponsive to your touch, gurgling now and then, and you check his vitals. Respirations are slow, his lips are bluish, and his pupils are pinpoint. As you tell your partner to get the Narcan out, you ask the crowd if the victim has taken anything… there are lots of shrugs. Your partner hands you the Narcan nasal device and you administer it into one nostril.
The police arrived, and the crowd has suddenly thinned. The music is turned off. Your partner brings the gurney in while you ask for more information about the patient. Finally, someone admits that a few people were using “recreational drugs”. You’re checking his respirations again; the patient is still unconscious but breathing is becoming more regular. As you check his pulse, he gasps and wakes up suddenly and angrily.
“What happened?” he demands. “You were unconscious,” answers a crying teen. The patient utters a curse and complains that he was just fine. You turn him on his side, and he angrily takes a misguided swing in your direction. Seeing the gurney, he slurs his words as he yells that he is not going to the hospital. He struggles as you place a nasal cannula on him.
You begin to ask the typical questions – What’s your name? Do you know where you are? What is today? Can you tell me what happened to you? Glaring at you, he stumbles through his words as he tries to answer. “Sir, I think it’s a wise idea to go to the hospital.”
A police officer comes over with a wallet in his hand. “His friend just gave me his ID. He’s underage. Take him to the hospital. We’ll arrange for his parents to meet us there.”
Aside from some loud, slurred curses, the trip to the hospital goes smoothly. You and your partner are relieved to hand him off to the ER staff.
On the way back to base, while you sit up front with your partner driving, you admit that this is the first time that you have ever personally administered Narcan, you’ve seen it done, and you were a bit nervous. But you knew that the Narcan would not hurt him, and supplemental oxygen helps to return oxygen to the brain. You also admit that the first thirty seconds after administering the spray, you were nervous until you saw some sign of him being revived.
All EMS rigs in New York State are able to request and carry Narcan on their rigs. It’s used to counter the effects of opioid overdoses from substances like heroin, morphine, codeine and more. Most BLS rigs carry Narcan as a nasal dosage, and it can take as long as 10 minutes for the effects to show; even after administering the drug, you must still assess and monitor your patient. Always monitor respirations and pulse.
While you should not automatically assume that your patient has overdosed, giving that initial dose of Narcan will not cause any harm. Although, do be careful, some patients who are roused from an overdose may be aggressive and even violent.
No information from the author.
