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Glucagon Brand Names
baqsimi | GlucaGen | Glucagon | Gvoke
What is Glucagon
Recombinant glucagon is identical to native glucagon. The recombinant injection products are expressed in either a Saccharoyces cervisiae (e.g., GlucaGen) or Escherichia coli strain (e.g., Glucagon, Lilly), with subsequent purification.
Glucagon nasal powder (Baqsimi) and glucagon injection (Gvoke) are also identical to native glucagon.
Native human glucagon is a hormone synthesized by the alpha-2 cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans and acts to increase blood glucose. Glucagon is used in the emergency treatment of severe hypoglycemia in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Other uses for glucagon are as a diagnostic aid in radiologic and endoscopic examination of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract; it is approved in adults for this purpose and is used off-label in pediatric patients for diagnostic use.
It is also used as a second-line agent as a cardiac stimulant in beta-adrenergic blocker overdose to help treat bradycardia; high dose infusions have been necessary for adjunctive treatment of these cases.
While also used for calcium channel blocker overdose in some studies, the evidence is lacking for a survival benefit with its use
Indications
- beta-blocker toxicity
- choking due to esophageal foreign body impaction
- congenital hyperinsulinemia
- hypoglycemia
- magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- radiographic examination
- verapamil toxicity
For the treatment of severe hypoglycemia
patients with diabetes mellitus
Side Effects
- abdominal pain
- anaphylactic shock
- anaphylactoid reactions
- antibody formation
- bullous rash
- chest pain (unspecified)
- coma
- cough
- dysgeusia
- epistaxis
- headache
- hyperglycemia
- hypertension
- hypoglycemia
- hypotension
- injection site reaction
- nasal congestion
- nausea
- necrolytic migratory erythema
- parosmia
- pruritus
- rash
- rhinorrhea
- sinus tachycardia
- sneezing
- throat irritation
- urticaria
- vomiting
Monitoring Parameters
- blood glucose
Contraindications
- adrenal insufficiency
- anorexia nervosa
- breast-feeding
- cardiac disease
- coronary artery disease
- driving or operating machinery
- infants
- insulinoma
- malnutrition
- pheochromocytoma
- pregnancy
Interactions
- Anticholinergics
- Atropine
- Atropine; Benzoic Acid; Hyoscyamine; Methenamine; Methylene Blue; Phenyl Salicylate
- Atropine; Difenoxin
- Atropine; Diphenoxylate
- Atropine; Edrophonium
- Atropine; Hyoscyamine; Phenobarbital; Scopolamine
- Belladonna Alkaloids; Ergotamine; Phenobarbital
- Belladonna; Opium
- Benzoic Acid; Hyoscyamine; Methenamine; Methylene Blue; Phenyl Salicylate
- Benztropine
- Beta-blockers
- Chlordiazepoxide; Clidinium
- Dicyclomine
- Flavoxate
- Glycopyrrolate
- Glycopyrrolate; Formoterol
- Homatropine; Hydrocodone
- Hyoscyamine
- Hyoscyamine; Methenamine; Methylene Blue; Phenyl Salicylate; Sodium Biphosphate
- Indacaterol; Glycopyrrolate
- Indomethacin
- Insulins
- Mepenzolate
- Methenamine; Sodium Acid Phosphate; Methylene Blue; Hyoscyamine
- Methscopolamine
- Oxybutynin
- Propantheline
- Scopolamine
- Trihexyphenidyl
- Warfarin