Clinical medicine profile
Ornipressin
Therapeutic agent (verify pharmacological class)
- Route
- See product SmPC
- Schedule
- POM
- ATC
- Not assigned
- PPB status
- registered
Safety essentials
The information most likely to change a prescribing or dispensing decision.
Contraindications
- Hypersensitivity to the active substance or excipients.
- Additional absolute contraindications are indication- and product-specific — consult SmPC.
Precautions
- Some absorption may occur from local application leading to systemic vasoconstriction.
- A rise in blood pressure may occur in some patients.
- Caution is therefore indicated in conditions in which a rise in blood pressure would be medically undesirable.
- Anginal symptoms may be precipitated in patients with ischaemic heart disease.
Dosing matrix
Population and organ-function guidance, shown together for faster comparison.
Usually 5 IU is diluted in 30 mL of physio- logical saline [max. dose for tissue infiltration is 5 IU]. Gynaecological surgery and laparoto- mies, more dilute solutions, e.g. 5 IU in 50 or 60 mL physiological saline are used. For ENT surgery more concentrated solutions, 5 IU in 20 mL physiological saline may be used.
See label paediatric section if present; otherwise use paediatric formulary — do not extrapolate adult doses.
Review renal impairment dosing; many agents need CrCl/eGFR adjustment.
- CrCl 0–120: Confirm renal dosing in product SmPC / primary label.
Review hepatic impairment dosing; monitor LFTs if agent is hepatically cleared or hepatotoxic.
Use, effects & interactions
Indications
- To induce ischaemia and haemostasis at the site of an operation.
- It may be used with general anaesthetics which are usually not compatible with adrenaline
- e.g. halothane, without fear of precipitating cardiac arrhythmias.
Adverse effects
- It is generally well tolerated
- facial or general pallor
- a rise (or occasionally fall) in blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, anginal pain, increased perspiration and increased bowel motility.
Drug interactions
Open multi-drug checker ↗- Professional use: confirm indication, dose, duration, monitoring and patient counselling points against current Kenya STG / EML and the product SmPC.
- Document allergy status and key interactions.
Mechanism & disposition
It is a synthetic polypeptide with a potent and specific constrictor effect on micro- circulation and veins which is equal to, if not greater than, that of vasopressin; it also has antidiuretic activity, but this is weak by compari- son with vasopressin.
Read complete mechanism
It is a synthetic polypeptide with a potent and specific constrictor effect on micro- circulation and veins which is equal to, if not greater than, that of vasopressin; it also has antidiuretic activity, but this is weak by compari- son with vasopressin. Topical application or infiltration leads within 10 minutes to local ischaemia which usually lasts for 1 to 2 hours without causing reactive hyperaemia.
Product-specific
Product-specific
See product SmPC
are product-specific. Consider food effects, protein binding, hepatic CYP/UGT
when adjusting for organ impairment, age and drug interactions. Verify parameters in the current SmPC.
Pregnancy, lactation & diet
Use only if potential benefit justifies potential risk; prefer agents with better reproductive data when alternatives exist.
Assess infant risk vs benefit of maternal therapy; prefer agents with lactation data.
Brands & loaded prices
| Brand | Manufacturer | Pack | Observed price |
|---|---|---|---|
| No reviewed brand listings are linked yet. | |||
Sources & review state
Decision support only. Confirm patient-specific decisions against the current product SmPC, Kenya STG/EML, and professional judgement.