A Nurse Practitioner's View

The media has picked up a story of a tragic alcohol-related death of a 16 year old male. His autopsy reportedly revealed a relatively low blood alcohol level but high levels of papaverine , a drug sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction in men. What do the headlines read? Erectile drug mystery in teen's death at party Traces of erectile drug found in dead teen The problem here is that papaverine needs to be INJECTED into the penis to work for erectile dysfunction. Oral forms of papavarine are not routinely used and will do nothing for erectile issues. The headlines can cause people to panic because the complete medical information is not presented in the articles. This boy suffocated on his own vomit when he was unconscious due to a combination of alcohol and this medication found in his bloodstream. Questions surround why this medication was found in his bloodstream and perhaps these articles were crafted to bring increased attention to the case as his family were growing ...