By EMS1 Staff
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — National emergency medical services organizations collaborated to create the first evidence-based guideline for EMS administration of naloxone in opioid overdose cases.
A study conducted by the National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials (NASEMSO), the National Association of EMS Physicians and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has yielded an evidence-based guide to assist providers in making the decision to deploy naloxone.
Prior to the study, EMS providers were faced with several questions when encountering overdose patients, including the best possible route of administration, titration of naloxone until patient resumes respirations or full consciousness, and the question of transport in the event of a full return to consciousness.
The guideline was published by Prehospital Emergency Medicine and can be read in its entirety here:
Evidence Based Guidelines for EMS Administration of Naloxone by Ed Praetorian on Scribd