August 2019 EMS Update: Naloxone EBG
After a thorough review of published research and collaboration of a multidisciplinary expert panel, an evidence-based guideline (EBG) for the EMS administration of naloxone has been published in Prehospital Emergency Care. The group, led by the National Association of State EMS Officials, the National Association of EMS Physicians and the American College of Emergency Physicians, has also made available a model protocol based on the new EBG and other research.
The technical expert panel, chaired by Principal Investigator Kenneth Williams, MD, the state EMS medical director for Rhode Island, and funded by the NHTSA Office of EMS and the Health Resources and Services Administration EMS for Children program, set out to address four questions related to EMS naloxone administration:
- What is the optimal dose?
- What is the optimal route?
- What role does titration to sufficient spontaneous respiration versus a return to consciousness play?
- Does transporting those who regain consciousness to a hospital affect their outcome?