Medication 7-877 - Tetracaine

CMH EMS & MIH Protocols

Scope of Practice:

• Registered Nurse
• Paramedic
• Community Paramedic

Route(s):

• Topical

Pharmacodynamics (class and mechanism of action):

• Anesthetic. (Local anesthesia.)

Pharmacokinetics:

• Half-life: 1.8 hours.
• Onset time: 15 seconds.
• Peak action time: Unknown.
• Duration of action: 10-20 minutes.

• Peak	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	minutes
  Duration	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	minutes

Dosing:

• Refer to specific protocol(s) below for dose(s).

Indications:

• Protocol 2-418 - Eye Trauma.
• Equipment 8-576 - Morgan Lens.

Contraindications:

• Hypersensitivity.

Pregnancy Risk Factor:

• Category C
• Risk not ruled out: Animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks. FDA requires a relatively large amount of high-quality data on a pharmaceutical for it to be defined as Pregnancy Category A. As a result of this, many drugs that would be considered Pregnancy Category A in other countries are allocated to Category C by the FDA.

Potential Incompatibilities:

• None.

Precautions and Adverse Effects:

• Patient will be unaware of objects touching their Eye. Be careful to protect the eye from foreign debris and from the patient rubbing eyes.
• May cause Burning, conjunctival redness, photophobia, and/or lacrimation.

Antidote:

• Dantroline.

Controlled Substance Information:

• Not a scheduled drug
• The DEA and FDA have not identified this drug with a schedule classification.
• DEA number: NA.
• Narcotic: No.
• Street names: NA.

CMH Pre-Hospital Services Mission: "Provide safe, exceptional, and compassionate care to our communities with an emphasis on highly trained and empowered staff."

CMH Mobile Integrated Healthcare Mission: "Provide exceptional, compassionate, and patient-centered care by a mobile collaborative team to improve patient experience, improve quality outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs."

Polk, Hickory, Cedar, & St Clair County EMS Protocols is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.