Page 93 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Winter 2015

“Rationale for Use of Intravenous Acetaminophen

in Special Operations Medicine”

F. Bowling, 18D, ATP

read with great interest the article by Vokoun advocat- The CEB welcomes any and all input to help improve
1
I ing the use of intravenous (IV) acetaminophen. I agree the TMEPs or to correct errors. Any suggestions can be
with all of the author’s points and commend him on a sent to: USSOCOMCEB@gmail.com.
well-written article with well-made points and a definite
applicability to Special Operations medicine. As a mem- Reference
ber of the Curriculum Evaluation Board (CEB) respon-
sible for the content of the Tactical Medical Emergency 1. Vokoun ES. Rationale for use of intravenous acetaminophen
Protocols (TMEPs), I can state that the CEB wholeheart- in Special Operations medicine. J Spec Oper Med. 2015;15(2):
edly endorses the use of acetaminophen for use in pain 71–73.
management via the oral and IV routes. Based on this
article, we plan to add the IV administration of acet-
aminophen for the treatment of pain.
SGM Bowling serves as the Senior Enlisted Medical Advi-
sor for US Special Operations Command. He has served for
I wonder if the author has considered the use of rapid- 26 years and been assigned to USASOC and the 7th Special
release acetaminophen gel caps via a nasogastric (NG) Forces Group. E-mail: f.bowling@socom.mil.
tube. The gel caps can be dissolved in water in a short
period of time and given through an NG tube with
rapid absorption and onset of action. This can over- The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect
come the inability of a critically injured patient to ingest the official policy or position of the US Special Operations
an oral medication. While great care should be given to Command, Department of Defense, or the US Government.
the possible complications of passing an NG tube, this
procedure could be technically easier than giving an IV
infusion of acetaminophen. Also, the weight and space
of an NG tube and acetaminophen capsules are far less
than those involved in administering an IV infusion.

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