naproxen and narcan

jgmedic

Fire Truck Driver
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Quick question. I had a minor disagreement with an FD medic who gave narcan in a patient who had apparently taken naproxen. He told me that it acted on the same receptors as narcotics and so narcan was indicated. Patient was not resp depressed and mildly ALOC with etoh on board. Has anyone ever heard of this? He stated it was told to him by a physician.
 

Clare

Forum Asst. Chief
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Naproxen is a COX inhibitor (heehee, COX inhibitor) and appears to have no effect on the opioid receptors therefore naloxone is not going to do anything for somebody who has taken it.

Maybe he was thinking of nubain or something? who knows
 

Aprz

The New Beach Medic
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Naproxen (naprosyn) is an NSAID (COX inhibitor like Clare said) like aspirin, toradol, mobic, etc. so no, it does not act on the same receptor (naloxone antagonize the opiate receptors). Additionally like you said, no respiratory depression, which is the reason you'd give naloxone (narcan). The goal is not to take away their high or wake them up, it's to get them to breath reasonably on their own. He was wrong.
 
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RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
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Lol @ FD medic.
 

NYMedic828

Forum Deputy Chief
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Quick question. I had a minor disagreement with an FD medic who gave narcan in a patient who had apparently taken naproxen. He told me that it acted on the same receptors as narcotics and so narcan was indicated. Patient was not resp depressed and mildly ALOC with etoh on board. Has anyone ever heard of this? He stated it was told to him by a physician.

polarBEARuwotm8.gif


Medic should be sent for re training!
 
OP
OP
J

jgmedic

Fire Truck Driver
785
203
43
No way, no how.

He may have been mistaking Naproxen for Norco? Maybe?

No, he referred to Naproxen and Midol and other similar drugs, saying how it was a trick some dr. had told him about. He gave the Narcan to the patient who then started vomiting all over the back of my rig. He then rode in with me, claiming something about pinpoint pupils. All of this doesn't even matter, considering even if he was right, the patient didn't have any respiratory depression, so the Narcan was not even indicated(per our protocol), the patient also exhibited way more signs of stimulant use than opiates.

Just to be perfectly clear here, I was asking more to vindicate myself here when I told him what he was doing was wrong and he condescendingly told me otherwise, I am well aware of what it doesn't work on, I had almost the same argument with a medic a number of years ago regarding Narcan in Soma OD. Thanks for all the responses and I will be sure to pass some of this on.
 
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Summit

Critical Crazy
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wow.........
 

mycrofft

Still crazy but elsewhere
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"saying how it was a trick some dr. had told him about"

And there, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly, EXACTLY, why technicians work with protocols.

What idiocy.
 

TheLocalMedic

Grumpy Badger
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LOL, you said he rode in with you? Did you get to watch as he explained himself in the ED?
:rofl:
 

Summit

Critical Crazy
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OP
OP
J

jgmedic

Fire Truck Driver
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203
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LOL, you said he rode in with you? Did you get to watch as he explained himself in the ED?
:rofl:

After he left all the nurses just stared and shook their heads. It's not an uncommon scene when fire decides to step in and do things like this. Most of the FD medics around here are cool too, but there's always a couple.
 

TheLocalMedic

Grumpy Badger
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I haven't had too many bad experiences with the fire guys in my area, but there are plenty of people with stories. One apparently walked in to find a fire medic about to give 1 mg of eip 1:1,000 IV to a girl with a case of poison oak. YIKES! :wacko:
 

intellectualfish

Forum Crew Member
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I remember a call from a ride along I did during my basic course with the local, private 911 company where the FF medic on scene was trying to give a CHF pt albuterol because he could, "hear wheezing that sounds like asthma." Mind you, this pt has zero hx of asthma, extensive cardiac hx, and dependent edema in the lower extremities. Unfortunately, the way things work around here, FF medics are in charge of the scene until the pt is in the back of the transport ambulance. After much protesting by the transport medic, his partner, and me, the FF medic starts the neb and helps load the pt. Neb goes straight into the trash as soon as the doors close on the rig. Sometimes I wonder about these folks. Heck, I didn't even have my basic yet and knew this was a bad combo...
 
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STXmedic

Forum Burnout
Premium Member
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I've got plenty of stories about ambo medics doing really stupid :censored::censored::censored::censored:, too. Just sayin.
 
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OP
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jgmedic

Fire Truck Driver
785
203
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I've got plenty of stories about ambo medics doing really stupid :censored::censored::censored::censored:, too. Just sayin.

no doubt, I didn't mean to come off like Fire is the only one who does dumb stuff medically. Usually they don't ride in and give report, so when they do, it comes off kind of awkward, considering we do it 8-9x a night and they a few times a year unless they work out in the desert on one of their boxes. I would have been just as upset with the situation if it had been one of our medics telling me this.
 

VFlutter

Flight Nurse
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Why did he want to reverse Naproxen in the first place? Did they chug a whole bottle?
 
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