# Naloxone

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/naloxone/  
OnCo record `naloxone` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Naloxone reverses an opioid overdose. For people on strong painkillers for cancer, it is given in small repeated doses so that breathing recovers without bringing all the pain back.

## Summary

The US injection label covers "the complete or partial reversal of opioid depression, including respiratory depression" and diagnosis of suspected acute opioid overdose. The Australian cancer pain guideline (2025) advises that if the respiratory rate is 8 a minute or less and the person cannot be roused, "use the appropriate dose of naloxone in frequent small doses with the aim to improve consciousness without worsening pain", diluting the ampoule to 10 mL. The same guideline suggests switching to oxycodone combined with naloxone for opioid constipation that does not respond to laxatives. The Narcan NDA was approved on 13 April 1971.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-11-11
- Also known as: naloxone hydrochloride
- Tags: supportive; generic; supportive-care-gaps-2026-11
- Brand: Narcan
- Modality: Opioid antagonist (injection, nasal spray)
- Mechanism: A competitive opioid receptor antagonist that reverses the effects of opioids.
- Approvals: US 1971: Complete or partial reversal of opioid depression; diagnosis of suspected acute opioid overdose

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naloxone
- US label (DailyMed): naloxone hydrochloride injection: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=201fdedf-1736-4e52-9d7d-de14292547fd
- Lovell et al., Update of the Australian guideline for the management of cancer pain in adults (Asia Pac J Clin Oncol 2026): https://doi.org/10.1111/ajco.70047

## Connected records

- drugs: [Morphine](https://onco.cc/drugs/morphine/), [Oxycodone](https://onco.cc/drugs/oxycodone/)
- technologies: [Cancer pain management](https://onco.cc/technologies/pain-management/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/naloxone.json