Doxapram: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Doxapram is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand, for hypercapnia, respiratory hypersensitivity and substance-related disorders. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Treats
- Hypercapnia, Respiratory Hypersensitivity and Substance-Related Disorders
- Available as
- Injectable
- Sold as
- Dopram
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How doxapram is dosed
From the FDA label for Dopram (application NDA014879). Other doxapram products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
DOSAGE & ADMINISTRATION NOTE: CONTAINS BENZYL ALCOHOL (see PRECAUTIONS ) In Postanesthetic Use Table I. Dosage for postanesthetic use-I.V. and infusion. * Dose not to exceed 3 grams/24 hours. BY I.V. INJECTION (See Table I. Dosage for postanesthetic use—I.V.) The recommended dose for I.V. administration is 0.5 – 1 mg/kg for a single injection and at 5-minute intervals. Careful observation of the patient during administration and for some time subsequently are advisable. The maximum total dosage by I.V. injection is 2 mg/kg. BY INFUSION The solution is prepared by adding 250 mg of doxapram (12.5 mL) to 250 mL of dextrose 5% or 10% in water or normal saline solution. The infusion is initiated at a rate of approximately 5 mg/minute until a satisfactory respiratory response is observed, and maintained at a rate of 1 to 3 mg/minute. The rate of infusion should be adjusted to sustain the desired level of respiratory stimulation with a minimum of side effects. The maximum total dosage by infusion is 4 mg/kg, or approximately 300 mg for the average adult. In the Management of Drug-Induced CNS Depression (See Table II. Dosage for drug-induced CNS depression.) Table II. Dosage for drug-induced CNS depression. * Mild Depression Class 0: Asleep, but can be aroused and can answer questions. Class 1: Comatose, will withdraw from painful stimuli, reflexes intact. † Moderate Depression Class…
Doxapram side effects
Adverse reactions reported coincident with the administration of DOPRAM (doxapram hydrochloride, USP) include: 1. Central and Autonomic Nervous Systems Pyrexia, flushing, sweating; pruritus and paresthesia, such as a feeling of warmth, burning, or hot sensation, especially in the area of genitalia and perineum; apprehension, disorientation, pupillary dilatation, hallucinations, headache, dizziness, hyperactivity, involuntary movements, muscle spasticity, muscle fasciculations, increased deep tendon reflexes, clonus, bilateral Babinski, and convulsions. 2. Respiratory Dyspnea, cough, hyperventilation, tachypnea, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, hiccough, and rebound hypoventilation. 3. Cardiovascular Phlebitis, variations in heart rate, lowered T-waves, arrhythmias (including ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation), chest pain, tightness in chest. A mild to moderate increase in blood pressure is commonly noted and may be of concern in patients with severe cardiovascular diseases. 4. Gastrointestinal Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, desire to defecate. 5. Genitourinary Stimulation of urinary bladder with spontaneous voiding; urinary retention. Elevation of BUN and albuminuria. 6. Hemic and Lymphatic Hemolysis with rapid infusion. A decrease in hemoglobin, hematocrit, or red blood cell count has been observed in postoperative patients. In the presence of pre-existing…
Who shouldn’t take doxapram
Doxapram is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to the drug or any of the injection components. Doxapram should not be used in patients with epilepsy or other convulsive disorders. Doxapram is contraindicated in patients with proven or suspected pulmonary embolism. Doxapram is contraindicated in patients with mechanical disorders of ventilation such as mechanical obstruction, muscle paresis (including neuromuscular blockade), flail chest, pneumothorax, acute bronchial asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, or other conditions resulting in restriction of the chest wall, muscles of respiration, or alveolar expansion. Doxapram is contraindicated in patients with evidence of head injury, cerebral vascular accident, or cerebral edema, and in those with significant cardiovascular impairment, uncompensated heart failure, severe coronary artery disease, or severe hypertension, including that associated with hyperthyroidism or pheochromocytoma. (See WARNINGS .)
Every doxapram product we track (1)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
Only one: Dopram.
What people report to the FDA about doxapram
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 11 reports naming doxapram, and the FDA flagged 100% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- hypokalaemia5 reports
- depressed level of consciousness3 reports
- respiratory failure3 reports
- hepatic failure2 reports
- hepatitis fulminant2 reports
- respiratory depression2 reports
- acidosis1 reports
- anuria1 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean doxapram caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is doxapram?
Dopram (Doxapram Hydrochloride) is a medication used to treat Hypercapnia, Respiratory Hypersensitivity, Substance-Related Disorders.
Can you take doxapram with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run doxapram against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What forms does doxapram come in?
Across the brands we track, doxapram is currently marketed as injectable, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic doxapram?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled doxapram product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Doxapram: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/doxapram
- MLA
- “Doxapram: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/doxapram.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for doxapram on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.