CrownPointCommunity.com
CROWN POINT, Ind. — Efforts are under way in parts of the country to broaden access to a medication that can reverse the effects of some drug overdoses. A February report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows residents in 15 states and the District of Columbia who were trained to administer naloxone resulted in 10,171 overdose reversals between 1996 and 2010.
Naloxone, known commonly by the brand name Narcan, has been a longtime tool for first responders in the region, said Schererville Fire Chief Joseph Kruzan, who has been a paramedic and instructing paramedics since 1992. The drug can almost immediately reverse the overdose effect of opiates such as heroin, morphine and codeine. An opiate overdose suppresses the ability to breathe, called respiratory depression, said Rob Dowling, director of emergency medical services with Franciscan St. Anthony Health hospital in Crown Point.
A paramedic who suspects an unconscious person has overdosed on an opiate gradually can administer Narcan through intravenous feeding. “It’s one of the few drugs that we give that we’re able to see an immediate response to,” Dowling said. The effect kicks in within a few minutes, but the opiate reversal lasts only 40 to 60 minutes.