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Field medications · Adult & pediatric guidance · ALS

Aspirin

Adult suspected cardiac ischemia and the limits of pediatric and fire-service use.

OCEMS source summary · Updated 2026-09-16

Check before giving

  • SO-C-015 withholds aspirin for reported allergy, anticoagulant/antiplatelet medication use, or direct midline mid-back pain suggesting possible aortic dissection.
  • Apply the OCEMS contraindications as written; a general cardiac guideline from another jurisdiction may differ.

Use in OCEMS

  • The 9-1-1 standing-order indication is adult/adolescent chest pain of suspected cardiac origin or an anginal equivalent.
  • Obtain a 12-lead promptly; a normal tracing does not exclude serious ischemia.

Adult / adolescent

Indication / routeDose & limits
Suspected cardiac chest painFour 81 mg tablets (324 mg total) or one 325 mg tablet, once. SO-C-015 instructs the patient to chew.

Pediatric

  • A pediatric cardiac aspirin regimen is not provided in I-20. Do not scale down the adult chest-pain dose or present adult standing-order authority as pediatric authorization.
  • Use the applicable pediatric assessment and base-directed care when cardiac disease is suspected.

Pediatric dosing availability

  • No routine pediatric field regimen is supplied by the cited OCEMS sources; do not scale an adult dose by weight.
WeightOCEMS pediatric dose
Any weightNo general pediatric dose under the cited source; follow the applicable order / medical direction.

Preparation & reassessment

  • Ask specifically about medications already taken and document the amount administered.
  • SO-F-02 separately lists aspirin for eligible firefighting personnel using package directions through an FS-ARN program; that is not a general pediatric or ALS dosing pathway.