In the wake of a fentanyl epidemic that has caused more than 100 deaths, Philadelphia’s paramedics will soon be able to administer larger doses of the life-saving drug, Narcan to overdose victims, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. But critics say the City of Brotherly Love will still be giving less of the drug than other cities use. more of a life-saving drug in less time, but experts say the change will still give victims far less than what other cities are doing.
The increased dosage that Philadelphia paramedics will be using is still less than what they were directed to give overdose victims in 2004 before the last change in city guidelines, and it is short of what experts in Chicago, New York and Detroit say many victims need. “It’s too conservative,” said Lewis Goldfrank, a nationally known emergency physician, speaking of the protocols’ effectiveness for patients overdosed on heroin and fentanyl.
Link: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/15369353.htm