Butorphanol Tartrate

BUTORPHANOL TARTRATE- butorphanol tartrate injection, solution
Hospira, Inc.

WARNING: SERIOUS AND LIFE-THREATENING RISKS FROM USE OF BUTORPHANOL TARTRATE INJECTION

Addiction, Abuse, and Misuse

Because the use of Butorphanol Tartrate Injection exposes patients and other users to the risks of opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death, assess each patient’s risk prior to prescribing and reassess all patients regularly for the development of these behaviors and conditions [see WARNINGS].

Life-Threatening Respiratory Depression

Serious, life-threatening, or fatal respiratory depression may occur with use of Butorphanol Tartrate Injection, especially during initiation or following a dosage increase. To reduce the risk of respiratory depression, proper dosing and titration ‎of Butorphanol Tartrate Injection are essential [see WARNINGS ].

Risks From Concomitant Use With Benzodiazepines Or Other CNS Depressants

Concomitant use of opioids with benzodiazepines or other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, including alcohol, may result in profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death. Reserve concomitant prescribing of Butorphanol Tartrate Injection and benzodiazepines or other CNS depressants for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options are inadequate [see WARNINGS, PRECAUTIONS; Drug Interactions].

Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS)

If opioid use is required for an extended period of time in a pregnant woman, advise the patient of the risk of NOWS, which may be life-threatening if not recognized and treated. Ensure that management by neonatology experts‎ will be available at delivery [see WARNINGS ].

DESCRIPTION

Butorphanol tartrate is a synthetically derived opioid agonist-antagonist analgesic of the phenanthrene series. The chemical name is (-)-17-(cyclobutylmethyl) morphinan-3, 14-diol D-(-)- tartrate (1:1) (salt). The molecular formula is C21 H29 NO2 ∙ C4 H6 O6 , which corresponds to a molecular weight of 477.56 and the following structural formula:

Chemical Structure
(click image for full-size original)

Butorphanol tartrate is a white crystalline substance. The dose is expressed as the tartrate salt. One milligram of the salt is equivalent to 0.68 mg of the free base. The n-octanol/aqueous buffer partition coefficient of butorphanol is 180:1 at pH 7.5.

Butorphanol Tartrate Injection is a sterile, nonpyrogenic parenteral aqueous solution of butorphanol tartrate for intravenous or intramuscular administration.

Each milliliter (mL) contains butorphanol tartrate 1 or 2 mg; sodium citrate, dihydrate, 6.4 mg; citric acid hydrous 3.3 mg; sodium chloride 6.4 mg. The pH is 4.5 (3.0 to 5.5).

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY

Mechanism of Action

Butorphanol is a partial opioid agonist at the mu opioid receptor and a full agonist at the kappa opioid receptor. The principal therapeutic action of butorphanol is analgesia. Clinically, dosage is titrated to provide adequate analgesia and may be limited by adverse reactions, including respiratory and CNS depression.

The precise mechanism of the analgesic action is unknown. However, specific CNS opioid receptors for endogenous compounds with opioid-like activity have been identified throughout the brain and spinal cord and are thought to play a role in the analgesic effects of this drug.

Pharmacodynamics

The analgesic effect of butorphanol is influenced by the route of administration. Onset of analgesia is within a few minutes for intravenous administration and within 15 minutes for intramuscular injection.

Peak analgesic activity occurs within 30 to 60 minutes following intravenous and intramuscular administration.

The duration of analgesia varies depending on the pain model as well as the route of administration, but is generally 3 to 4 hours with IM and IV doses as defined by the time 50% of patients required remedication. In postoperative studies, the duration of analgesia with IV or IM butorphanol was similar to morphine, meperidine and pentazocine when administered in the same fashion at equipotent doses [see Clinical Trials].

Effects on the Central Nervous System

Butorphanol produces respiratory depression by direct action on brain stem respiratory centers. The respiratory depression involves a reduction in the responsiveness of the brain stem respiratory centers to both increases in carbon dioxide tension and electrical stimulation.

In human studies involving individuals without significant respiratory dysfunction, 2 mg of butorphanol IV and 10 mg of morphine sulfate IV depressed respiration to a comparable degree. At higher doses, the magnitude of respiratory depression with butorphanol is not appreciably increased; however, the duration of respiratory depression is longer. Respiratory depression noted after administration of butorphanol to humans by any route is reversed by treatment with naloxone, a specific opioid antagonist [see OVERDOSAGE].

Butorphanol, like other mixed agonist-antagonists with a high affinity for the kappa receptor, may produce unpleasant psychotomimetic effects in some individuals.

Nausea and/or vomiting may be produced by doses of 1 mg or more administered by any route.

In human studies of butorphanol [see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY; Clinical Trials], sedation is commonly noted at doses of 0.5 mg or more. Narcosis is produced by 10 to 12 mg doses of butorphanol administered over 10 to 15 minutes intravenously.

Butorphanol causes miosis, even in total darkness. Pinpoint pupils are a sign of opioid overdose but are not pathognomonic (e.g., pontine lesions of hemorrhagic or ischemic origins may produce similar findings). Marked mydriasis rather than miosis may be seen due to hypoxia in overdose situations.

Effects on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Other Smooth Muscle

Butorphanol causes a reduction in motility associated with an increase in smooth muscle tone in the antrum of the stomach and duodenum. Digestion of food in the small intestine is delayed and propulsive contractions are decreased. Propulsive peristaltic waves in the colon are decreased, while tone may be increased to the point of spasm, resulting in constipation. Other opioid-induced effects may include a reduction in biliary and pancreatic secretions, spasm of sphincter of Oddi, and transient elevations in serum amylase.

Effects on the Cardiovascular System

Hemodynamic changes noted during cardiac catheterization in patients receiving single 0.025 mg/kg intravenous doses of butorphanol have included increases in pulmonary artery pressure, wedge pressure and vascular resistance, increases in left ventricular end diastolic pressure and in systemic arterial pressure.

Effects on the Endocrine System

Opioids inhibit the secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, and luteinizing hormone (LH) in humans [see ADVERSE REACTIONS]. They also stimulate prolactin, growth hormone (GH) secretion, and pancreatic secretion of insulin and glucagon.

Use of opioids for an extended period of time may influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, leading to androgen deficiency that may manifest as low libido, impotence, erectile dysfunction, amenorrhea, or infertility. The causal role of opioids in the clinical syndrome of hypogonadism is unknown because the various medical, physical, lifestyle, and psychological stressors that may influence gonadal hormone levels have not been adequately controlled for in studies conducted to date [see ADVERSE REACTIONS].

Effects on the Immune System

Opioids have been shown to have a variety of effects on components of the immune system. The clinical significance of these findings is unknown. Overall, the effects of opioids appear to be modestly immunosuppressive.

All MedLibrary.org resources are included in as near-original form as possible, meaning that the information from the original provider has been rendered here with only typographical or stylistic modifications and not with any substantive alterations of content, meaning or intent.

This site is provided for educational and informational purposes only, in accordance with our Terms of Use, and is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a medical doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner or other qualified health professional.

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2024. All Rights Reserved.