PITTSBURGH — Emergency departments across the Pittsburgh region are reporting a growing number of patients experiencing severe and sometimes violent withdrawal symptoms tied to a potent new street drug mixture, health care providers told KDKA.
Doctors say the drug — fentanyl combined with medetomidine, a veterinary sedative not approved for human use — is changing how overdoses present in hospitals and increasing risks for patients and staff, according to KDKA.
For years, paramedics have routinely reversed opioid overdoses with naloxone and transported patients to emergency rooms for further care. In recent months, physicians say many patients are rapidly entering severe withdrawal after being revived, often becoming highly agitated and combative…