Nitrous Oxide

[lightsandsirens5]

MS? Magnesium Sulfate or Morphine Sulfate or Multiple Scelerosis?


MgSO4 - Magnesium Sulfate

Medications should be spelled out completely. Abbreviations or chemical formulas should not be used.

This is why the only abbrviation I use regularly is EMT...

Also amazing how confusing it is in chemistry: H2O=Water, H2O2=Hyrdrogen Peroxide

NO= Nitroen Monoxide, N2O= Nitrous Oxide, N2O3=Nitrogen Tetroxide (A liquid!) N2O4=nitrogen peroxide (Highly flammible and deadly. Main ingredient of Hydrazine rocket fuel.)

Etc........

My county wants to get N2O back, but I don't know how that is going...........

 

[MrBrown]

... it's of great benefit to our patients, when strong meds are some distance off at times.

I agree Joy! Entonox is great stuff, its only been around for 160 years so something must be right about it eh? ^_^

Interestingly the northern region is removing entonox and the southern region does not carry it. I hear a national move is being made towards methoxyflurane only.

The great thing about the new merged ILS level is that IV analgesia will be more readily avaliable. You know how it is, Upskill and APs get syphoned off to jobs requiring thier meds and we're left with no pain relief close to hand.

Heck I heard City 3 get told one night no R50/51 was avaliable, yikes!

 

[lightsandsirens5]

I agree Joy! Entonox is great stuff, its only been around for 160 years so something must be right about it eh? ^_^

Interestingly the northern region is removing entonox and the southern region does not carry it. I hear a national move is being made towards methoxyflurane only.

The great thing about the new merged ILS level is that IV analgesia will be more readily avaliable. You know how it is, Upskill and APs get syphoned off to jobs requiring thier meds and we're left with no pain relief close to hand.

Heck I heard City 3 get told one night no R50/51 was avaliable, yikes!

So y'all in NZ carry it? What are protocols for use?

 

[MrBrown]

Entonox
• Indicated for moderate to severe pain.
• Contraindicated if:
a. Unable to obey commands or
b. Confirmed pneumothorax or
c. Confirmed bowel obstruction or
d. Patient has been SCUBA diving in the last 24 hrs or has a diving
related emergency or
e. Known allergy.
• Confirmed pneumothorax is a contraindication, but chest injuries
are not, here you will need to monitor breathing and stop using
entonox if breathing gets worse.
• In general only one form of inhalational pain relief (either entonox
or methoxyflurane) should be used, but it is acceptable to swap
from one to the other if there is a good indication to do so.

 

[Scott33]

From what I've gathered reading forums, one of the big reasons why it isn't used more often in the US is because it can't be stored mixed in with oxygen. So you end up with a heavier device that has an oxygen tank and a nitrous oxide tank instead of one tank containing a proper mixture as is the case in other countries.

Absolutely.

Entonox, as used in the UK, Australia, NZ and Canada, is already premixed in 1 bottle, so is also commonly used by the basic provider (including community first responders, and St John in the UK). I think Bledsoe wrote that the FDA won't approve mixing of the gases, so here we stand.

My EMS depts have had it for as long as I have been in EMS, and I have used it several times to good effect. It is the perfect on scene analgesic, so the "hook up to the outlet on the ambulance" comments, are I hope, in addition to having portable means to bring it to the patient.