Known brand names include GlucaGen.
An emergency shot for severe low blood sugar in people with diabetes, usually given by a family member or caregiver because the person is too low to treat themselves. It makes the liver release stored sugar, and it is also used in imaging to hold the gut still for X-ray exams.
Glucagon is not on the ISMP acute care high-alert list. Insulin and oral sulfonylureas, which cause the lows it treats, are.
Sources: [1]
The label does not describe a narrow therapeutic index or direct dosing by measured blood levels of the drug.
Sources: [1]
No specific antidote. Overdose can cause nausea, vomiting, slowed GI motility, and a rise in blood pressure and pulse; serum potassium may fall, so check and correct it. For a dramatic blood pressure rise, IV phentolamine has lowered pressure effectively for the short period control is needed.
Doses come from the FDA label. Study tool, not for clinical decisions.
No renal dose adjustment on the label. Glucagon is degraded in the liver, kidney, and plasma.
Synthetic glucagon, a 29-amino-acid peptide identical to human glucagon. It activates hepatic glucagon receptors, which stimulates glycogenolysis and hepatic glucose release, so it works only when liver glycogen stores are adequate. Outside the liver it relaxes smooth muscle in the stomach, duodenum, small bowel, and colon. After 1 mg subcutaneously, glucose rises within 10 minutes and peaks at about 30 minutes; the half-life is 8 to 18 minutes.