Ex-Addict Turns Blue From Adverse Ingestion Reaction

The patient mistook a bottle of nitrite as a 5-Hour Energy drink-like beverage. Photo WikiMedia Commons/UK Home Mesa Fire and Medical Department (MFMD) Engine 203 is dispatched code 3 to a residence for a possible adverse reaction from ingestion. Upon arrival, two paramedics and two EMTs enter the small home to find the patient lying on the bathroom floor. One of the paramedics enters the kitchen to gather information from the girlfriend of the patient who states the 26-year-old male patient drank Rush, an energy shot-type energy drink, approximately an hour ago and is now complaining of dyspnea, nausea and vomiting. He’s initially somewhat altered, weak, very pale/cyanotic and his scalp line and nail beds are blue. He vomited several times prior to EMS arrival. His pulse is 114 bpm and shows sinus tachycardia on the monitor; his blood pressure is 75/42 with respirations at 20, his oxygen saturation is in the mid-80s and blood sugar is 115 mg/dL. Lungs are clear in all fields and no trauma is noted. The girlfriend also reports the patient is a recovering heroin and methamphetamine addict with no other significant medical history and no known drug allergies. High-flow oxygen is administered by way of a non-rebreather mask, an 18-gauge IV catheter is inserted and an ECG is obtained. While treatment begins, the documenting paramedic contacts Banner Poison and Drug Information Center and discovers the 10 mL "drink" actually contains 9 mL of isobutyl nitrite an...
Source: JEMS Special Topics - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Special Topics Patient Care Source Type: news