naloxone_drip_dosing: Naloxone Drip Dosing

In cliot: Clinical Indices and Outcomes Tools

Naloxone Drip Dosing

Description

Calculates the recommended hourly infusion rate for a naloxone drip. This is indicated for patients with opioid intoxication who require repeat bolus doses or have ingested long-acting opioids (e.g., methadone). The standard toxicology rule of thumb is to set the hourly infusion rate at 2/3 of the effective "wake-up" bolus dose.

Usage

naloxone_drip_dosing(wake_up_bolus_mg)

Arguments

wake_up_bolus_mg

Numeric. The total bolus dose of naloxone (in mg) required to reverse respiratory depression (the "wake-up" dose).

Value

A list containing:

Calculated_Hourly_Rate_mg_hr	The calculated continuous infusion rate in mg/hr.
Protocol_Note	Guidance on the 2/3 rule.

References

Goldfrank LR. Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies. 11th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education; 2019. Clarke SF, Dargan PI, Jones AL. Naloxone in opioid poisoning: walking the tightrope. Emerg Med J. 2005;22(9):612-616. doi:10.1136/emj.2003.009613

Examples

# Example 1: 0.4 mg reversed the patient
# Rate = 0.4 * (2/3) = 0.27 mg/hr
naloxone_drip_dosing(0.4)

# Example 2: High dose required (2 mg)
# Rate = 2 * (2/3) = 1.33 mg/hr
naloxone_drip_dosing(2.0)

cliot documentation built on Dec. 1, 2025, 1:06 a.m.