EMDocs
NOVEMBER 6, 2023
Opioid overdose remains the leading cause of cardiac arrest due to poisoning in North America. For a patient with suspected opioid overdose who has a definite pulse but no normal breathing or only gasping (ie, a respiratory arrest), in addition to providing standard BLS and/or ALS care, it is reasonable for responders to administer naloxone.
Peter Canning
JUNE 25, 2025
If they’re lethargic and hard to arouse, but still breathing effectively, it’s not an overdose. Boston paramedic This is a quote I included in a presentation I put together for the state of Connecticut back in 2014 when we designed a curriculum to teach BLS providers how to use naloxone. Fatal overdoses are easy to track.
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JEMS
JUNE 11, 2025
His agency has three levels of gear when appropriate, for instance there is an ALS, BLS, and AEMT drug bag in each ambulance, but there is, of course, a great deal of cross over and this is simply not necessary for most of the equipment. In the EMD (emergency medical dispatch) world, they often count as BLS.” It’s pretty simple, right?
JEMS
JULY 7, 2025
This suburban, combined ALS and BLS EMS system responds to greater than 120,000 combined requests for service a year. Of the groups with positive findings, Sp02 increased on average from 89.6% Individual agencies are dispatched via a common communications center using commercially available Emergency Medical Dispatch software.
The Skeptics' Guide to EM
MAY 21, 2017
Do heroin overdose patients require observation after receiving naloxone? Do heroin overdose patients require observation after receiving naloxone? Opioids depress the heart rate and breathing and overdoses can result in death. The second new recommendation was about opioid overdose treatment. Clinical Toxicology 2017.
Paramedics Unlimited
APRIL 19, 2018
What is the difference between ALS and BLS Medical Care? In Basic Life Support (BLS) emergencies, a single EMS provider can not deliver optimum care, such as when trying to hold direct pressure on a bleeding wound, while preparing bandages, to stop bleeding. Paramedics provide pain management treatment in the field.
Peter Canning
OCTOBER 30, 2023
We’re dispatched to an overdose on Ashley Street. I am in the fly car and a BLS crew is in the ambulance. I don’t see anyone on two passes, but then I hear the BLS unit radio they’ve found him. I have done many overdoses like this one of homeless people who were in fact down alleys and behind dumpsters.
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