Narcan anyone???

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So I just found out I got hired at First Response in Chicago and am currently studying their SOP's. I came across something I never heard in their SOP's called Narcan. Never came across in my EMT book but it's supposedly common in the field. Supposedly, this reverses any effects of opiates or narcotics within minutes!!! Has anyone here ever used this first hand on a drug addict and did it pop them out of their high as quick as it says it does? Thanks for any responses!

Taqee
 
Narcan (naloxone) will block and reverse the effects of any opiate/opioid OD. Typically patients are violent and agitated upon regaining consciousness this way, so be prepared. A quick google search will tell you as much.
And I can't imagine there isn't another thread already discussing this in depth...
 
Hey thanks for the reply. I've google'd it but just wanted to get a real world testament on the subject. The thought of someone high as a kite sobering up in mere minutes is shocking. Never heard of it.


LACoGurneyjockey:
And I can't imagine there isn't another thread already discussing this in depth...
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I figured as much. How do you search old topics on here? Thanks again.

Taqee
 
LACoGurneyjockey said:
Narcan (naloxone) will block and reverse the effects of any opiate/opioid OD. Typically patients are violent and agitated upon regaining consciousness this way, so be prepared.
Click to expand...

Eh, not necessarily violent and agitated when it's used correctly. 2 mg rapid IVP on a heroin junkie? Yeah, you'll turn your ambulance into the vomit comet and your comatose patient into something resembling a rabid mongoose. 0.5 mg or so titrated to effect through a variety of routes however and I don't mind Narcan at all. It is one of our more dramatic and immediately effective interventions. Between Narcan and D50 you can fool some people into thinking you're a wizard of the healing arts. Reference the "I be Banging" scene in Bringing Out the Dead for specifics...
 
For OP, search function on top right of the screen, "Search this Forum".

Nothing like a bringing out the dead reference to brighten my day. The only narcan I've ever used is the auto-injector, and it certainly is not "titrated to effect" (insert emoticon of furious junkie).
 
For OP, search function on top right of the screen, "Search this Forum".
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Hey thanks silly me.

Reference the "I be Banging" scene in Bringing Out the Dead for specifics...
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Ha! That was pretty funny! Never seen that movie before. The response "I be banging" lol, had to the Narcan was how I thought it would be. Still shocking!
 
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chaz90 said:
Eh, not necessarily violent and agitated when it's used correctly. 2 mg rapid IVP on a heroin junkie? Yeah, you'll turn your ambulance into the vomit comet and your comatose patient into something resembling a rabid mongoose. 0.5 mg or so titrated to effect through a variety of routes however and I don't mind Narcan at all. It is one of our more dramatic and immediately effective interventions. Between Narcan and D50 you can fool some people into thinking you're a wizard of the healing arts. Reference the "I be Banging" scene in Bringing Out the Dead for specifics...
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I've used Narcan as well on patients. However, I have learned to use it very appropriately... Chaz's description of what it can do when it's used inappropriately is pretty much on the money. Of course, the patient will be very angry that you pretty much instantly wrecked their high and threw them into instant withdrawl if you use it wrong.

Nice & slow IVP to bring up the respiratory rate... Much nicer to have a calm, blissed-out patient in your rig than one that's madder than Hulk.

And that's a GREAT scene from Bringing out the Dead!
 
Narcan is one reason why we make sure our restraints are on the rig and in good order..

I always thought Quintin Tarantino strove for accuracy in his movies, but that whole scene in Pulp Fiction where John Travolta shoots that giant needle in Uma Thurman's heart? Nope.
 
Narcan is a very very common medication. If I had to take a guess I would say it is probably our 3rd or 4th most used medication.
 
DesertEMT66 said:
Narcan is a very very common medication. If I had to take a guess I would say it is probably our 3rd or 4th most used medication.
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Would O2 be number 1?
 
Household6 said:
Narcan is one reason why we make sure our restraints are on the rig and in good order..
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If you frequently have to use restraints when waking someone with narcan, then you're doing something wrong. I've had to restrain exactly one person post naloxone, and that was because he was my first encounter with speedballing.
 
we use narcan almost every shift in new orleans. But it is pretty amazing the first time you see it. it works just like the textbook says it does. The things you don't learn in class.
 
Meh, its cool, but I prefer to just intubate them. Ive seen one to many OD's refuse after waking up.
 
rmabrey said:
Meh, its cool, but I prefer to just intubate them. Ive seen one to many OD's refuse after waking up.
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Da fuq? I hope you aren't for real. That's messed up man. If you're so worried about them refusing, then just cut your dosage way down so that they're breathing but still dopey, then you can take them out of there no problem.

Intubating an OD without trying narcan??? I bet you backboard anyone over 60 just to see them squirm too... :angry:
 
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