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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page overview of the problems presented by temperature-sensitive medications in the out-of-hospital environment. Life support drugs are of particular concern for the EMT. This paper outlines the temperature requirements for
several drugs and emphasizes that provisions must be made to address these needs. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: AM2_PPdrgHt.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Numerous problems present themselves for emergency medical technicians in the out-of-hospital setting. One commonly encountered problem is temperature sensitivity in medications. Most drug manufacturers recommend that drugs be
stored at "controlled room temperatures". Allegra and MacKenzie (1999) note that this entails a temperature range of "between 15?C and 30?C with a mean kinetic temperature less than 25?C".
Manufacturers sometimes even impose more specific limitations on storage temperatures. They derive these restrictions from a series of tests designed to test product stability under various temperature regimes
(Lawrenson, 2004). It might appear that such restrictions are simply impossible to maintain in a field setting unless the EMT has access to refrigeration and other devices that insure
that the appropriate temperature range is not being exceeded. Never-the-less, the utilization of temperature impacted life support drugs can have tremendous consequences. The most concerning of these, of
course, is patient death. Cardiac drugs and drugs such as lidocaine, lorazepam, and even asthma medicine such as formotorol are heat-sensitive. Injectable
epinephrine, for example, has been demonstrated to undergo significant degradation in formulation when exposed to extreme heat such as that that might occur in an EMS vehicle in the summer
months (McElroy, 2002). Such degradation can occur with no visible changes to the medication itself. Because the expiration date has not passed and the drug looks normal an
EMT might not recognize that a problem even exists. EMTs must remain constantly vigilant in assuring that the drugs in their possession are
stored under the appropriate conditions. Reading the package inserts for each of the drugs that you are responsible for safeguarding is one of the most effective means to determine
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