Carfentanil Exposure Treatment & Precautionary Measures for EMS Providers

As EMS providers, our jobs continue to get more and more difficult, and a new threat has recently made prehospital emergency care even more dangerous. It is imperative that all of us rapidly educate ourselves and our colleagues on the extremely potent narcotic carfentanil. The primary danger of carfentanil is its potency—it is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.1–2 Carfentanil is an extremely potent synthetic fentanyl analogue that is supposed to be highly restricted for veterinary use for the tranquilizing of large animals, such as elephants. It is not approved for use in humans.1–2 However, recent reports suggest it has been introduced into the illicit drug market in both the U.S. and Canada, raising serious concerns for the possibility of unintentional overdoses. Carfentanil has been detected in street drugs that were passed off as other illicit substances, including heroin and cocaine, and supplied in various forms including powders and tablets.3 Carfentanil has already been attributed to several deaths, even among opioid-tolerant patients.4 Exposures present with symptoms typical of opioid overdose, including decreased alertness, respiratory depression and pinpoint pupils. Symptom onset is very rapid after exposure. Like other opioids, exposure can occur through multiple routes of administration including intravenous injection, oral ingestion and inhalation. There are also reports of exposures from splashes of the liquid ...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Patient Care Source Type: news