Recommendations for the prehospital dosing schedule of naloxoneNaloxone is a potent antagonist of the binding of opioids to their receptor sites within the brain and spinal cord. Administration of naloxone will reverse central nervous system and respiratory depression resulting from opioid overdose (Soar et al., 2005; Soar et al., 2010; Van Hoek et al., 2010). Naloxone has long been used in prehospital emergency resuscitation of patients with narcotic overdose, and with a very limited pharmacological effect, the drug has been shown to have little, if any, adverse effect on patient outcomes, particularly in opioid-naïve patients (Albertson, 2001; Dollery, 1991; Soar et al., 2005; a person should receive, particularly when suffering from cardiac arrest. This literature review aims to answer this question and promote prehospital based guidelines on the evidence. Dosing of naloxone in the patient presenting with altered mental status According to the manufacturer, the Food and Drug Administration, and the American Heart Association (AHA), the suggested dosing regimen for naloxone in the treatment of patients with opioid overdose is 0.4 to 2.0 mg IV, IM, SC, or IN, repeated every two to three minutes as needed up to a maximum cumulative dose of 10 mg (sometimes required for high or atypical opioid intake) at that point the suspicion of primary narcotic overdose should be questioned as the condition may be caused by a drug or disease process that does not respond to naloxone (Albertson, 2001; DynaMed, 2008; Endo Pharmaceuticals, 2003; "Naloxone", 2011; Soar et al., 2005; Soar et al., 2010; Marraffa, Cohen, and Howland (2012) reiterate this maximum cumulative dose by advocating a lower initial dosage: Effectiveness of naloxone in opioid-induced cardiac arrest. According to the latest AHA guidelines, “naloxone has no role in the management of cardiac arrest” (Van Hoek et al., 2010, “Opioid Toxicity”). This statement, however, is in direct conflict with the AHA's "H&T" premise of addressing the underlying causes of cardiac arrest, one of these T's being toxicological in nature and requiring the particular antidote (in this case , naloxone) to help prevent cardiac arrest. the resuscitative effort. As previously mentioned, AHA guidelines provide that when naloxone is indicated, aggressive dosing may be necessary to reverse atypical opioid intoxication or following substantial overdose.