How does Narcan (naloxone) Work?

How does Narcan (naloxone) Work? Pharmacology for Nurses

Narcan (naloxone) is an opioid antagonist which means it will move any opioids currently sitting in a receptor site - out, and Narcan will take its place to prevent opioids from binding. The opioid that was originally sitting in the receptor site functioned to change the cell activity. Opioid receptor sites can be found in the brain, nervous system, and intestines. The ones we are concerned with here are the ones in the brainstem as when opioids connect to those receptor sites, the drive to breathe decreases.

You may come upon a patient who is breathing very slow or not breathing at all. If Narcan is available, you can administer it. It will not harm someone who has never taken Narcan and it may potentially save a life.

Narcan is given every 2 to 3 minutes if there is no response and in your kit, there will be three doses. If the patient does respond to the first dose, they may wake up agitated because all their pain is back. They should stay awake for 2o to 60 minutes before the Narcan is depleted, leaving the opioid receptor sites free for the opioids that are still circulating to bind. As opioids have a longer half-life, many doses of Narcan are usually required.

As opioids have a longer half-life, we often need to use Narcan more than one time on the same patient.

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