Question

You respond to a call for a possible overdose. You arrive and find a male unconscious, apneic, with a needle still in his arm and a heart rate of 62. After ensuring scene safety, care should involve ____.

A. inducing vomiting and providing CPR
B. possibly administering Narcan, airway support, and manual ventilations
C. intubating and CPR
D. doing a head-tilt-chin lift, placing an NRB at 15 LPM, and transporting immediately

Answer 1

Care for a suspected opioid overdose should focus on administering Narcan, ensuring airway patency, and providing manual ventilations rather than inducing vomiting or performing CPR when a heart rate is present. The correct care should involve possibly administering Narcan, airway support, and manual ventilations.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct care should involve possibly administering Narcan, airway support, and manual ventilations. This is because opioids can seriously slow or stop breathing, leading to death, and Naloxone (Narcan) can reverse an opioid overdose by helping the person wake up and continue breathing until further medical treatment is available. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is necessary when the heart has stopped, but in this scenario, the patient has a detectable heart rate.

Therefore, CPR is not the immediate response unless the patient's heart stops. Instead, the priorities are to address the suspected opioid overdose and support the patient's respiratory efforts. Narcan is an opioid-overdose antidote that helps the person wake up and keeps them breathing until emergency medical treatment can be provided. Airway support and manual ventilations ensure that the person is receiving enough oxygen.