Droperidol
Looking up MedlinePlus…
From MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine
Boxed warning
Cases of QT prolongation and/or torsade de pointes have been reported in patients receiving droperidol at doses at or below recommended doses. Some cases have occurred in patients with no known risk factors for QT prolongation and some cases have been fatal. Due to its potential for serious proarrhythmic effects and death, droperidol should be reserved for use in the treatment of patients who fail to show an acceptable response to other adequate treatments, either because of insufficient effectiveness or the inability to achieve an effective dose due to intolerable adverse effects from those drugs (see CONTRAINDICATIONS , WARNINGS , PRECAUTIONS , and ADVERSE REACTIONS ).
Cases of QT prolongation and serious arrhythmias (e.g., torsade de pointes) have been reported in patients treated with droperidol. Based on these reports, all patients should undergo a 12-lead ECG prior to administration of droperidol to determine if a prolonged QT interval (i.e., QTc greater than 440 msec for males or 450 msec for females) is present. If there is a prolonged QT interval, droperidol should NOT be administered.
For patients in whom the potential benefit of droperidol treatment is felt to outweigh the risks of potentially serious arrhythmias, ECG monitoring should be performed prior to treatment and continued for 2-3 hours after completing treatment to monitor for arrhythmias. Droperidol is contraindicated in patients with known or suspected QT prolongation, including patients with congenital long QT syndrome.
Droperidol should be administered with extreme caution to patients who may be at risk for development of prolonged QT syndrome (e.g., congestive heart failure, bradycardia, use of a diuretic, cardiac hypertrophy, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, or administration of other drugs known to increase the QT interval). Other risk factors may include age over 65 years, alcohol abuse, and use of agents such as benzodiazepines, volatile anesthetics, and IV opiates. Droperidol should be initiated at a low dose and adjusted upward, with caution, as needed to achieve the desired effect.
Dopamine-2 Receptor Antagonist
Dosing in kidney impairment
This label has no separate kidney-impairment dosing section. Check warnings and clinical pharmacology in the full label.
Preparation and administration
Prepare this dose
Your numbers for droperidol. Take vial strength, diluent, and limits from the label below.
Enter a dose to see draw volume, final concentration, and rates.
However, additional doses should be administered with caution, and only if the potential benefit outweighs the potential risk. See WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS for use of droperidol with other CNS depressants, and in patients with altered response. Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration, whenever solution and container permit.
Drug interactions
Check droperidol against a medication listLabel text (2 paragraphs)
Drug Interactions Potentially Arrhythmogenic Agents: Any drug known to have the potential to prolong the QT interval should not be used together with droperidol. Possible pharmacodynamic interactions can occur between droperidol and potentially arrhythmogenic agents such as class I or III antiarrhythmics, antihistamines that prolong the QT interval, antimalarials, calcium channel blockers, neuroleptics that prolong the QT interval, and antidepressants. Caution should be used when patients are taking concomitant drugs known to induce hypokalemia or hypomagnesemia as they may precipitate QT prolongation and interact with droperidol.
These would include diuretics, laxatives and supraphysiological use of steroid hormones with mineralocorticoid potential. CNS Depressant Drugs: Other CNS depressant drugs (e.g. barbiturates, tranquilizers, opioids and general anesthetics) have additive or potentiating effects with droperidol. When patients have received such drugs, the dose of droperidol required will be less than usual. Following the administration of droperidol, the dose of other CNS depressant drugs should be reduced.
Contraindications
Droperidol is contraindicated in patients with known or suspected QT prolongation (i.e., QTc interval greater than 440 msec for males or 450 msec for females). This would include patients with congenital long QT syndrome. Droperidol is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to the drug. Droperidol is not recommended for any use other than for the treatment of perioperative nausea and vomiting in patients for whom other treatments are ineffective or inappropriate (see WARNINGS ).
Pregnancy and lactation
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Category C. Droperidol administered intravenously has been shown to cause a slight increase in mortality of the newborn rat at 4.4 times the upper human dose. At 44 times the upper human dose, mortality rate was comparable to that for control animals. Following intramuscular administration, increased mortality of the offspring at 1.8 times the upper human dose is attributed to CNS depression in the dams who neglected to remove placentae from their offspring. Droperidol has not been shown to be teratogenic in animals. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women.
Droperidol should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Lactation
Nursing Mothers It is not known whether droperidol is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when droperidol is administered to a nursing mother.
For breastfeeding, also see LactMed (National Library of Medicine), which summarizes milk levels and infant effects.
Supply and cost
Drug shortage status
Recalls (last 24 months)
Therapeutic equivalence (Orange Book)
Price ladder
Not the price at the counterThese are not what a patient pays at the pharmacy counter. They are what pharmacies, health plans, and government buyers pay, before manufacturer rebates. A patient's cost depends on their insurance (copay, coinsurance, or deductible) or the pharmacy's cash price.