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EMS FENTANYL

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Common Exposures
Fentanyl, an opioid is a very potent isynthetic opioid-drug given to pain sufferers/patients to
avoid pains consequent to surgical procedures, for treating longstanding/chronic pains & to
induce sleep while undertaking medical interventions. While having similar impact as morphine
& heroin, the drug fentanyl possesses as much as fifty to hundred times more potency than the
two. (Prekupec et al., 2017)
Carfentanil is another synthetic analog of the drug fentanyl having a potency of more than
hundred times compared to fentanyl & ten thousand times more potent compared to morphine.
Although being the most powerful manufactured opioid, Carfentanil is not fit for administration
to human beings & is solely reserved to be utilized as a pain-killer for larger organisms. Fentanyl
& Carfentanil are also entered in the first schedule of Federal-Controlled Drugs & Substances
Act of 1996. Contemporarily, illegal Fentanyl, Carfentanil as well as their various analog-drugs
are trending to be used as recreational-drugs by various drug-abusers which is a common source
of exposure to these dreadful medicines.
Looking at the sources of exposure, it is evident that street-Fentanyl is available in various forms
like powdered-form analogous to powdered-heroin, powdered-form ground within other
recreational-drugs like icocaine, trans-dermal Fentanyl patch etc. (O’Donnell et al., 2017).
As far as the common exposures to opioids are concerned in cases of EMS workers and the front
line medical and community-health workers, they can get accidentally-exposed to opioids like
Fentanyl and Carfentanil etc. while caring for an abuser who has administered and did
overdosing of the opioid/analogs, or while searching an abuser possessing the drug.

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Instances of activities which can be dangerous & commonly lead to exposure to opioids like
Fentanyl of EMS and health workers include:
Removal of clothes an abuser using the drug or possessing the drug,
Searching an abuser using the drug or possessing the drug,
Reviving an abuser using the drug or possessing the drug,
Carrying out the transfer of an abuser using the drug or possessing the drug.
Once exposed to these opioids like Fentanyl & its analogs, they can gain entry into the body of
those exposed EMS workers by the following routes:
Via respiratory routes consequent to inhalation,
By gastrointestinal route consequent to being ingested,
Parenteral route via intra-venous as well as intra-muscular injection
Another possible mode of entry is the through the skin-contact. However, it is less likely
to result in overdosing till exposure occurs for a longer time and that too to heavy doses
of powdered Fentanyl in high concentration.
Generally, inhalation as well as accidental/incidental ingestion is the highest hazard to
the EMS workers.

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Common Exposures Fentanyl, an opioid is a very potent isynthetic opioid-drug given to pain sufferers/patients to avoid pains consequent to surgical procedures, for treating longstanding/chronic pains & to induce sleep while undertaking medical interventions. While having similar impact as morphine & heroin, the drug fentanyl possesses as much as fifty to hundred times more potency than the two. (Prekupec et al., 2017) Carfentanil is another synthetic analog of the drug fentanyl having a potency of more than hundred times compared to fentanyl & ten thousand times more potent compared to morphine. Although being the most powerful manufactured opioid, Carfentanil is not fit for administration to human beings & is solely reserved to be utilized as a pain-killer for larger organisms. Fentanyl & Carfentanil are also entered in the first schedule of Federal-Controlled Drugs & Substances Act of 1996. Contemporarily, illegal Fentanyl, Carfentanil as well as their various analog-drugs are trending to be used as recreational-drugs by various drug-abusers which is a common source of exposure to these dreadful medicines. Looking at the sources of exposure, it is evident that street-Fentanyl is available in various forms like powdered-form analogous to powdered-heroin, powdered-form ground within other recreational-drugs like icocaine, trans-dermal Fentanyl patch etc. (O’Donnell et al., 2017). As far as the common exposures to opioids are concerned in cases of EMS workers and the front ...
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