The use of Naloxone in critically-ill patients

Abstract

T en critically-ill patients with prolonged hypotension or unrecordable systolic blood-pressure, impaired mental status and respiratory depression (n this study. Naloxone, 0.8 - 1.2 mg was injected intravenously in all patients. in six hypotensive patients, systolic blood-pressure rose in range of 26-35%, within 5-15 minutes following the naloxone injection. lnfour patients systolic blood-pressure was unrecordable .and after naloxone injection rose to a value of 100-120 mm Hg. Naloxone was effective in three patients in which dopamine could not maintain the systolic blood-pressure at optimal renal perfusion level. lt seems that naloxone had a lesser effect in three patients treated with high doses of corticosteroids. The therapeutic effect of naloxone is suggested on the assumption that endorphins are mainly responsible for the hypotension and respiratory depression in critically-ill patients.