With proper training, teens can play an important role in reducing youth mortality from opioid overdoses.
ORLANDO, Fla. — More than half of youth improved after receiving a dose of naloxone by emergency medical services after an emergency dispatch call, according to research presented on September 29 at the"Emergency responders or EMS are often the first to arrive to an opioid poisoning, and they're often the first to give naloxone, a potentially lifesaving medication," said Christopher E.
"I tell people that everyone should carry naloxone and have naloxone available to be able to reverse an overdose, whether they personally use opioids or know people who use opioids because if they happen to come into a situation in which someone is passed out and unresponsive, that timely administration of naloxone may save their life," Nichols said.
Most of the incidents occurred in urban areas , followed by rural , suburban , and wilderness . More occurred in the US South than in the West , Midwest , or Northeast . A possible reason for these variations is that"an overdose might be mistaken for another medical emergency, or vice versa, because opioid poisonings can be challenging to recognize, especially in young children and in the pediatric population," Gaw said."Both the public and emergency responders should maintain a high level of suspicion" of possible overdose for children with the signs or symptoms of it, such as low breathing, unresponsiveness, or small pupils.
"For first responders and healthcare professionals, the importance of additional resuscitation measures like oxygenation and ventilation are just as crucial," Marino said."People should not be discouraged if someone doesn't immediately respond to naloxone as overdose physiology can cause mental status to stay impaired for other reasons beyond direct drug effect, such as hypercarbia, but continue to seek and/or provide additional emergency care in these situations.
The study was limited by inability to know how many true pediatric opioid poisonings are managed by EMS, so future research could look at linking EMS and emergency room hospital databases.Another study showed that a peer-to-peer training program increased teens' knowledge about overdoses from 34% before training to 79% after , and it substantially improved their confidence in recognizing an overdose and administering naloxone.
Addiction Overdose Drug Overdose Toxicology Toxicity Poisoning Toxins Adolescent Medicine Teens Teenage Teenager Adolescent Health Adolescents Adolescent Children Child Childhood Pediatrics Kids Brain Cardiac Arrest Cardiorespiratory Arrest Cardiopulmonary Arrest Circulatory Arrest Ohio Student
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