Mark I NAAK

You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.

The Mark I NAAK, or MARK I Kit, is United States military nomenclature for the "Nerve Agent Antidote Kit". It is a dual-chamber auto-injector: Two anti-nerve agent drugs -- atropine sulfate and pralidoxime chloride -- each in injectable form, constitute the kit. The individual using the kit places each injector against his thigh and presses a button, releasing a sprung needle which is designed to penetrate clothing.

Typically, U.S. servicemembers are issued three MARK I Kits when operating in circumstances where chemical weapons are considered a potential hazard. Along with the three kits are issued one CANA (Convulsive Antidote, Nerve Agent) for simultaneous use. (CANA is the drug diazepam or Valium, an anticonvulsant.) Both of these kits are intended for use in "buddy aid" or "self aid" administration of the drugs prior to decontamination and delivery of the patient to definitive medical care.

A newer model, the ATNAA (Antidote Treatment Nerve Agent Auto-Injector), has both the atropine and the pralidoxime in one syringe, allowing for simplified administration.

References

U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, Medical Management of Chemical Casualties Handbook, Third Edition (June 2000), Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, pp 118-126.

Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content

Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .