THE EFFECT OF PREHOSPITAL ADMINISTRATION OF INTRAVENOUS NALBUPHINE ONON-SCENE TIMES

The use of intravenous nalbuphine in pre-hospital settings by paramedi cs has been demonstrated to be safe and effective. We assessed the eff ect of this additional intervention by comparing the time spent on-sce ne by ambulance crews treating patients with fractures of the tibia an d fibula who received intravenous nalbuphine with those who had placem ent of an intravenous cannula alone and those who had neither cannula nor nalbuphine. The mean on-scene times were 17.1 min without cannulat ion, 29.9 min for cannulation without nalbuphine and 37.5 min for cann ulation and administration of nalbuphine. The benefits of effective pr e-hospital analgesia thus have a cost in terms of time. Continued audi t of interventions and on-scene times is important to prevent inapprop riate delays in pre-hospital care which may cause clinical and operati onal problems.