It’s the middle of your 24-hour shift, and you get a call: “Male found down.” That’s it—nothing more. You arrive to find a 20ish male who is barely breathing after taking an unknown substance. He was dropped off by some friends at his girlfriend’s house.
You and your partner start bagging him and decide to give naloxone. The patient starts breathing on his own but still has apneic periods. You place him on a 15-liter nonrebreather facemask, but you think he might need something more. You consider putting him on a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine but are concerned his altered mental status might make the attempt futile.