• tgm@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Why was he sedated with ketamine? Surely, there are better options?

      • tgm@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Of course that would ideal, but IF someone should be sedated, why use ketamine?

        • medgremlin@midwest.social
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          2 days ago

          Compared to other sedatives, ketamine can have a safer effect profile in that it doesn’t mess with the person’s breathing and doesn’t massively slow down their heart rate. An excessive dose can result in a heart rate that is too high and that can collapse into cardiac arrest, but other fast-acting sedatives usually mean that you have to intubate the person because they aren’t going to be breathing adequately on their own until the drug wears off.

            • medgremlin@midwest.social
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              13 hours ago

              The biggest risk with ketamine is the tachycardia, but the other most common twilight sedative, propofol, runs a higher risk of the recipient slowing or stopping their breathing. In my medical experience, ketamine is commonly used for twilight sedation to set broken bones, and propofol is commonly used for short procedures like colonoscopies.

              • tgm@lemmy.world
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                9 hours ago

                Interesting, I did not know that, thanks. Still a horrible event, but perhaps not as medically unsound as I initially assumed. I am not saying that sedation was the right call

                • medgremlin@midwest.social
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                  6 hours ago

                  It absolutely was not the right call. In the ER, we use stuff like Haldol for combative patients, it’s substantially less dangerous for the patient, but it takes a couple minutes to kick in.

        • OhNoMoreLemmy@lemmy.ml
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          3 days ago

          Because the police have no medical training and still get to tell paramedics what drugs to use.

          Ketamine can be used to knock people out, and you can see why the police like that. Of course knocking people out is also super dangerous, and shouldn’t be done unless it’s medically needed.

          • tgm@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            What fuck. Do police have say over which drugs are used? That sounds unreal, utterly surreal.