Newtown police and ambulance responders remain equipped with operable equipment in the event they are called to treat an opioid-related overdose, despite a recall on the devices used to dispense the overdose reversal drug naloxone.click here.click here.

Late last week, Teleflex Medical issued a voluntary recall of LMA MAD Intranasal Mucosal Atomization Devices commonly used to deliver naloxone in the event of a suspected drug overdose.

The device is also used to administer medication for life-threatening hypoglycemia and epileptic seizures.

The Newtown Bee November 7 that responders either have access to naloxone dispensing kits or that kits already available to them were not subject to recall.

Both Police Chief James Viadero and Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps Chief Michael Collins informed

All of the police department kits were returned, according to Chief Viadero, and several viable replacements have been redistributed to patrol vehicles in the event they are called to a local suspected overdose situation.

Fire Marshal William Halstead, who is also chief of Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue, said three local fire companies that also carry the kits are checking the recall. Chief Halstead said those chiefs plan to meet November 8 to confirm whether they have any of the recalled naloxone dispensing kits, and would deal with replacing them if the need arises.

According to the recall notice, affected devices may not deliver a fully atomized plume of medication and, as a result, possibly impair the efficacy of the product when used in emergency overdose situations. It should be noted that this is a delivery device issue, and not a problem with the drugs that are being administered.

The Department of Consumer Protection, the Department of Public Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) are aware of the recall, and working together to determine if any of the affected products are in circulation with Connecticut emergency responders.

Trooper Tyler Weerden of the Connecticut State Police Public Information Office said in a release that the dispensers affected by this week's recall may be less effective, but are not harmful to use.

Since the inception of the program in October 2014, Connecticut State Police responded to 128 calls for suspected opioid overdose, he explained. Of those 128 in distress, 120 survived.

"Prior to this week's notification that some of the devices in our current inventory may fail to dispense the Narcan as intended, troopers had revived 33 individuals utilizing kits in the lots that have just been identified," Tpr Weerden said. "Because the benefits of using Narcan clearly outweigh any problems associated with a faulty applicator, we consulted with the Departments of Public Health, Mental Health and Addiction Services, and Consumer Protection, before taking several steps to continue to maximize our ability to revive persons who may have overdosed on opioids, pending replacement of the defective kits as soon as next week."

He said these steps include dispatching troopers with sufficient kits to every suspected opioid overdose in the event that the dispensing mechanism on one device fails.

"We have also conducted shift briefings, providing additional training to inform all sworn personnel of the potential for a defective dispensing mechanism and its indicators - notably, the medication running out of patient's nose and not being absorbed in the nasal passage - and ensuring additional doses of Narcan are available at all of the Troops," he added.

This recall may result in a shortage of naloxone to some basic life support emergency medical services (EMS) organizations. This recall will not affect paramedic level organizations. All patients will continue to receive appropriate pre-hospital emergency medical care in accordance with accepted standards of care.

In Connecticut, naloxone is available to customers through certified pharmacists at more than 300 participating pharmacies across the state. In addition to certified pharmacists, Connecticut law allows other prescribers, including physicians, surgeons, physician assistants (PAs), advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), and dentists to prescribe, dispense and/or administer the medication.

For information on which product codes and lot numbers have been recalled,

For the Department of Consumer Protection's interactive map of participating pharmacies,