Pharm
Glucagon
search
Glucagon
, GlucaGen, Bagsimi, Gvoke
See Also
Hypoglycemia
Calcium Channel Blocker Overdose
Esophageal Foreign Body
Physiology
Endogenous polypeptide hormone
Secreted by pancreatic alpha cells
Effect in
Hypoglycemia
(primary effect)
Pancreas
secretes in response to
Hypoglycemia
Glucagon stimulates
Glucose
release from glycogen (glycogenolysis)
Acts at
Catecholamine
-independent receptors on cardiac cells
Increases intracellular
Calcium
in cardiac cells
Increases myocardial contractions
Indications
Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia
with difficult
Intravenous Access
Neonatal Hypoglycemia
Esophageal Foreign Body
Relaxes Lower esophageal tone
Calcium Channel Blocker Overdose
and
Beta Blocker Overdose
Pharmacokinetics
Onset of action: 5 to 20 minutes
Preparations
Background
Cost approximately $280 for each agent (in 2019)
Shelf-life: 2 years
GlucaGen Hypokit (IM)
Standard
IM Injection
Gvoke (SC)
Subcutaneous Injection
using a prefilled syringer (autoinjector release pending in 2020)
Bagsimi (Intranasal)
Powder sprayed into a single nostril
Dosing
Hypoglycemia
Adult: 1 mg IV, IM or SC
Pediatric
Standard dose: 30 ug/kg IM
Newborn of diabetic mother: 300 ug/kg IM
Maximum dose: 1 mg
References
(2019) Presc Lett 26(11): 62-3
Type your search phrase here