Get your patient on Naloxone Hydrochloride - Naloxone Hydrochloride injection, Solution (Naloxone Hydrochloride)

Naloxone hydrochloride injection may be diluted for intravenous infusion in normal saline or 5% dextrose solutions. The addition of 2 mg of naloxone hydrochloride injection in 500 mL of either solution provides a concentration of 0.004 mg/mL. Mixtures should be used within 24 hours. After 24 hours, the remaining unused mixture must be discarded. The rate of administration should be titrated in accordance with the patient’s response.

Naloxone hydrochloride injection should not be mixed with preparations containing bisulfite, metabisulfite, long-chain or high molecular weight anions, or any solution having an alkaline pH. No drug or chemical agent should be added to naloxone hydrochloride injection unless its effect on the chemical and physical stability of the solution has first been established.

Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration whenever solution and container permit.

Opioid Overdose–Known or Suspected:

The usual initial dose in children is 0.01 mg/kg body weight given I.V. If this dose does not result in the desired degree of clinical improvement, a subsequent dose of 0.1 mg/kg body weight may be administered. If an I.V. route of administration is not available, naloxone hydrochloride injection may be administered I.M. or S.C. in divided doses. If necessary, naloxone hydrochloride injection can be diluted with sterile water for injection.

Postoperative Opioid Depression:

Follow the recommendations and cautions under Adult Postoperative Depression . For the initial reversal of respiratory depression, naloxone hydrochloride injection should be injected in increments of 0.005 mg to 0.01 mg intravenously at two- to three-minute intervals to the desired degree of reversal.

Opioid-induced Depression:

The usual initial dose is 0.01 mg/kg body weight administered I.V., I.M. or S.C. This dose may be repeated in accordance with adult administration guidelines for postoperative opioid depression.

The following adverse events have been associated with the use of naloxone hydrochloride in postoperative patients: hypotension, hypertension, ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation, dyspnea, pulmonary edema, and cardiac arrest. Death, coma, and encephalopathy have been reported as sequelae of these events. Excessive doses of naloxone hydrochloride in postoperative patients may result in significant reversal of analgesia and may cause agitation (see PRECAUTIONS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION; Usage in Adults-Postoperative Opioid Depression ).

Abrupt reversal of opioid depression may result in nausea, vomiting, sweating, tachycardia, increased blood pressure, tremulousness, seizures, ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation, pulmonary edema, and cardiac arrest which may result in death (see PRECAUTIONS ).

Abrupt reversal of opioid effects in persons who are physically dependent on opioids may precipitate an acute withdrawal syndrome which may include, but is not limited to, the following signs and symptoms: body aches, fever, sweating, runny nose, sneezing, piloerection, yawning, weakness, shivering or trembling, nervousness, restlessness or irritability, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, abdominal cramps, increased blood pressure, tachycardia. In the neonate, opioid withdrawal may also include: convulsions; excessive crying; hyperactive reflexes (see WARNINGS ).

Adverse events associated with the postoperative use of naloxone hydrochloride are listed by organ system and in decreasing order of frequency as follows:

Cardiac Disorders: pulmonary edema, cardiac arrest or failure, tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia. Death, coma, and encephalopathy have been reported as sequelae of these events.

Gastrointestinal Disorders: vomiting, nausea

Nervous System Disorders: convulsions, paraesthesia, grand mal convulsion

Psychiatric Disorders: agitation, hallucination, tremulousness

Respiratory, Thoracic and Mediastinal Disorders: dyspnea, respiratory depression, hypoxia

Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders: nonspecific injection site reactions, sweating

Vascular Disorders: hypertension, hypotension, hot flushes or flushing.

See also PRECAUTIONS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION; Usage in Adults; Postoperative Opioid Depression.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Mylan at 1-877-446-3679 (1-877-4-INFO-RX) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.)

Naloxone hydrochloride prevents or reverses the effects of opioids including respiratory depression, sedation and hypotension. Also, naloxone hydrochloride can reverse the psychotomimetic and dysphoric effects of agonist-antagonists such as pentazocine.

Naloxone hydrochloride is an essentially pure opioid antagonist, i.e., it does not possess the “agonistic” or morphine-like properties characteristic of other opioid antagonists. When administered in usual doses and in the absence of opioids or agonistic effects of other opioid antagonists, it exhibits essentially no pharmacologic activity.

Naloxone hydrochloride has not been shown to produce tolerance or cause physical or psychological dependence. In the presence of physical dependence on opioids, naloxone hydrochloride will produce withdrawal symptoms. However, in the presence of opioid dependence, opiate withdrawal symptoms may appear within minutes of naloxone hydrochloride administration and subside in about 2 hours. The severity and duration of the withdrawal syndrome are related to the dose of naloxone hydrochloride and to the degree and type of opioid dependence. While the mechanism of action of naloxone hydrochloride is not fully understood, in vitro evidence suggests that naloxone hydrochloride antagonizes opioid effects by competing for the µ, κ and σ opiate receptor sites in the CNS, with the greatest affinity for the µ receptor.

When naloxone hydrochloride is administered intravenously (I.V.), the onset of action is generally apparent within two minutes. The onset of action is slightly less rapid when it is administered subcutaneously (S.C.) or intramuscularly (I.M.). The duration of action is dependent upon the dose and route of administration of naloxone hydrochloride. Intramuscular administration produces a more prolonged effect than intravenous administration. Since the duration of action of naloxone hydrochloride may be shorter than that of some opiates, the effects of the opiate may return as the effects of naloxone hydrochloride dissipates. The requirement for repeat doses of naloxone hydrochloride will also be dependent upon the amount, type and route of administration of the opioid being antagonized.

Naloxone hydrochloride has been shown in some cases of septic shock to produce a rise in blood pressure that may last up to several hours; however, this pressor response has not been demonstrated to improve patient survival. In some studies, treatment with naloxone hydrochloride in the setting of septic shock has been associated with adverse effects, including agitation, nausea and vomiting, pulmonary edema, hypotension, cardiac arrhythmias, and seizures. The decision to use naloxone hydrochloride in septic shock should be exercised with caution, particularly in patients who may have underlying pain or have previously received opioid therapy and may have developed opioid tolerance.

Because of the limited number of patients who have been treated, optimal dosage and treatment regimens have not been established.