10/09/2026
🎃🚑 EMS AFTER DARK — CASE #2 🚑🎃
💀 TRICK OR TREAT?
Recognizing Toxidromes: Can You Identify the Overdose Presentation?
Halloween night just took a terrifying turn… 👻
🚨 DISPATCH INFORMATION:
It's 22:47 on Halloween night.
You're dispatched to a residential neighborhood for a 24-year-old male with altered mental status.
Dispatch advises:
"Caller reports a male who is barely responsive on the front porch. Unknown medical history."
🚑 UPON ARRIVAL:
You find a young male slumped against the front door of a house decorated for Halloween.
A spilled bucket of candy lies beside him.
His friends are visibly upset and tell you:
🗣️ "He was completely fine an hour ago! We were at a Halloween party, and then he just started acting weird. We thought he was sleeping, but now we can't wake him up!"
One friend mentions he may have taken "something" at the party but doesn't know what.
🩺 YOUR INITIAL ASSESSMENT:
Level of Consciousness: Responds only to painful stimuli
Airway: Snoring respirations
Respiratory Rate: 6 breaths/min, shallow
SpO₂: 82% on room air
Heart Rate: 54 bpm
Blood Pressure: 96/58 mmHg
Skin: Cool, pale
Pupils: Pinpoint bilaterally
Blood Glucose: 104 mg/dL
⚠️ HERE'S THE PROBLEM:
Your patient is barely responsive, breathing inadequately, and showing signs of a potentially life-threatening toxidrome.
You recognize that immediate airway management and assisted ventilation are necessary.
But you also suspect a specific cause.
💀 WHAT'S YOUR NEXT MOVE?
🅰️ Administer naloxone
🅱️ Administer oxygen
🅲 Check blood glucose
🅳 Observe and gather more information
👇 DROP YOUR ANSWER IN THE COMMENTS!
But don't stop at the letter!
🧠 BONUS CHALLENGE:
What toxidrome does this patient appear to be experiencing?
What THREE assessment findings support your suspicion?
What life-saving intervention must NOT be delayed while preparing the medication?
👻 THE TRM INSTRUCTOR CHALLENGE:
Tag your EMS partner, instructor, or favorite EMT student and see if they can solve this case!
🚨 ANSWER REVEAL COMING MONDAY!
Will you recognize the monster hiding behind the symptoms?
🎃 TEXAS RESCUE MED | EMS AFTER DARK
Train. Prepare. Respond.