PSA: Opioid toxicity
Morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, and codeine among others are all drugs under the umbrella of narcotics or opioids, derived from or similar to the compounds found in the opium poppy. I don’t have an in-depth knowledge of pharmacology yet, but it binds to opioid receptors in the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS)—the enteric nervous system being a large portion of that. Prolonged narcotic use can cause gastric paralysis, opioid tolerance, and severe withdrawal when without.
Acute issues that arise from an overdose of opioids are a direct cause of severe respiratory depression and the hypoxia that results from it. As a first responder (or trained bystander for that matter), it is entirely possible to save a patient by ventilating them until the opiate is removed from the body by the renal system. A more expedient method of reversing opioid overdose is by means of an opioid antagonist such as naloxone hydrochloride (Narcan) in conjunction with ventilations. This drug binds more strongly to opioid receptors, kicking the opioid out and reversing the overdose without any other effects (acute withdrawal may occur, and patients are known to get violent when their high is taken away from them.) Do note that naloxone has a shorter half-life than all known opioids, and a patient subsequently refusing care after being resuscitated may re-overdose with the remaining drug in their system.
In practical terms:
-Perform level of consciousness check and do ABCs, checking for breathing rate/depth and colour of skin. Cyanosis (blue tinge to skin/lips) is a bad sign.
-Ventilate first and foremost if the means are available and respirations are inadequate (for sanitary reasons, a bag-valve mask (BVM) is the best option, and a pocket mask with a filter is the next best thing)
-If available, an oropharyngeal airway (OPA) will help keep the airway patent. Otherwise, a nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) will be ideal if the patient’s gag reflex is still intact.
-Those that are trained can start with smaller doses of naloxone and stop when respirations become adequate (follow your local protocols, but keeping the patient sedated but breathing on their own is the best outcome).
-If you are insane, you can slam the patient with 2mg of Narcan and run like hell as the patient will likely be upset. Otherwise, if you are an EMT/Paramedic, you can administer the naloxone to the patient as you come in the door and dump them onto the hospital staff (it’s their problem now).