UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Intranasal Administration of Common Emergency Department Medications

Category: Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Keywords: Intranasal Administration, Alternative Administration (PubMed Search)

Posted: 11/2/2018 by Wesley Oliver (Updated: 11/8/2018)
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The most common methods of medication administration in the emergency department are oral, intravenous (IV), and intramuscular (IM).  If the oral route is not available, if IV/IM are not necessary, or if obtaining IV access is challenging, intranasal (IN) medication delivery is a reasonable alternative.  More concentrated products are preferred and a volume of 1 mL or less per nostril should be utilized.  Below is a table of the commonly used medications used via the IN route. 

Drug Concentration Indication IN Dose

Time to Peak Effect

Adverse Events
Fentanyl 50 mcg/mL Analgesia 0.5-2 mcg/kg 5 min

Nasal irritation, rhinitis, headache

Ketamine 100 mg/mL

Analgesia, Agitation, Sedation

3-6 mg/kg 5-10 min

Poor taste, HTN, hypersalivation, agitation, emergence reaction

Lorazepam 2 mg/mL

Agitation, Seizures

0.1 mg/kg

Max: 4 mg

30 min

Poor taste, lacrimation, nasal/throat irritation

Midazolam 5 mg/mL

Agitation, Sedation, Seizures

0.1-0.4 mg/kg

Max: 10 mg

5-10 min Same as lorazepam
Naloxone 1 mg/mL

Opioid Reversal

0.1 mg/kg

Usual dose:

0.4-2 mg

1-5 min

N/V, headache, withdrawal symptoms

 

References

Bailey AM, Baum RA, Horn K, et al. Review of intranasally administered medications for use in the emergency department. J Emerg Med. 2017;53:38-48.