Pubdate: Sat, 24 Jan 2015
Source: Daily Star, The (NY)
Copyright: 2015 The Daily Star
Contact:  http://www.thedailystar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/557
Author: Denise Richardson

FIRE CHIEF: CREWS, OD ANTIDOTE SAVED 5 LIVES

Oneonta EMS crews have saved five lives this year by administering
Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of opiates such as heroin,
the fire chief said this week.

Between Jan. 2 and 19, the Oneonta Fire Department had 11 calls for
possible substance abuse or accidental poisoning, Patrick Pidgeon,
city fire chief said.

"This is just a very unusual amount," Pidgeon said
Thursday.

Six patients were treated by emergency medical services crews with
Narcan, Pidgeon said, and for five of those patients the drug caused a
positive reaction by reversing the respiratory distress caused by an
opiate. In the sixth case, the results of giving Narcan had
inconclusive results, he said.

OFD crews have administered the life-saving Narcan in previous years,
though statistics weren't immediately available, Pidgeon said.

Some of the other 11 overdose cases were determined to be alcohol or
medically related, Pidgeon said, and in one case, a female patient was
found dead at Motel 88. The calls involved male and female patients of
various ages, he said.

Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin and Oneonta Police Chief Dennis
Nayor last week reported an outbreak in drug overdoses this month
suspected to be the result of injections from heroin tainted.

Federal law enforcement authorities said the drug fentanyl has been
added to heroin to increase its potency, and local police are seeking
information from the public about local heroin trafficking.

Oneonta police Lt. Douglas Brenner said Wednesday the investigation
with the deputies is progressing.

An opioid overdose is characterized by a decrease in breathing rate,
which can lead to death, usually occurring one to three hours after
injection, according to the state Department of Health website.

Narcan, a brand name for naloxone, is a prescription medicine that
reverses an overdose by blocking heroin or other opioids in the brain
for 30 to 90 minutes, the website said.

Naloxone can reverse overdoses caused by opioids, including heroin,
morphine, codeine, methadone, oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percodan,
Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin), fentanyl (Duragesic), and
hydromorphone, the DOH said.

Statewide, the number of poisoning deaths involving any drug more than
doubled from 777 deaths in 2003 to 1,950 in 2012, according to the
DOH. During the same time period, deaths involving opioid analgesics
showed a more than four-fold increase, from 186 deaths in 2003 to 914
in 2012.

Pidgeon said in addition to patient symptoms, emergency crews also
look at the scene for signs or drug use, such as needles or spoons,
and ask for information from friends, relatives or others.

Some OFD crews have been able to administer Narcan for a couple of
years, Pidgeon said. Training has expanded with the resurgence of
heroin use, he said, and now all crews have members trained to treat
patients with the drug.

Overdose calls come in clusters, Pidgeon said.

Of the Oneonta Fire Department's 27 full-time staff and seven call and
part-timers, 17 are qualified to provide advanced life-support,
Pidgeon said, and all others are trained in basic life support.

Narcan can be administered by nasal spray by a BLS crew or
intravenously by an ALS crew, Pidgeon said.

Oneonta police could be trained to administer Narcan, according to
Pidgeon. But the fire chief said he and Nayor decided to leave that
responsibility with EMS crews while police secure the scene and
protect staff.

In administering Narcan, a patient could become combative, Pidgeon
said, and then angry that the drug-induced high was taken away.

Under state law effective April 1, 2006, non-medical individuals can
administer naloxone or Narcan to another individual to prevent an
opioid/heroin overdose from becoming fatal.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt