Known brand names include Levophed.
A vasopressor given as a slow, continuous IV drip in the hospital to raise dangerously low blood pressure in adults. It tightens blood vessels and strengthens the heartbeat, and if it leaks out of the vein it can kill the nearby tissue.
Sources: [1]
High-alert medication. IV adrenergic agonists, with norepinephrine named, are on the ISMP acute care high-alert list. This record covers only IV infusion.
Sources: [1]
The label does not describe a narrow therapeutic index or direct dosing by measured blood levels of the drug.
Sources: [1]
None on the current label. Extravasation and its phentolamine treatment appear under Warnings and Precautions instead.
No reversal agent. Overdose causes headache, severe hypertension, reflex bradycardia, a sharp rise in peripheral resistance, and lower cardiac output; stop the infusion until the patient stabilizes. For extravasation, infiltrate the ischemic area as soon as possible with 5 to 10 mg of phentolamine in 10 to 15 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride through a fine needle; infiltration within 12 hours produces prompt local hyperemia.
Doses come from the FDA label. Study tool, not for clinical decisions.
No labeled dose change. It can reduce renal perfusion and urine output, especially in hypovolemia. Only small amounts are excreted unchanged; inactive metabolites leave in the urine.
A catecholamine with alpha- and beta-adrenergic agonist activity. Alpha stimulation causes peripheral vasoconstriction and raises total peripheral resistance; beta stimulation is inotropic and dilates the coronary arteries. The rise in pressure triggers reflex vagal slowing of the heart and a larger stroke volume, so cardiac output is usually unchanged, though it can fall. Flow to the abdominal organs and skeletal muscle drops, while coronary flow rises substantially. The pressor response is rapid, reaching steady state within 5 minutes; the half-life is about 2.4 minutes, and the pressor effect ends 1 to 2 minutes after the infusion stops.