Norepinephrine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands

Norepinephrine is a catecholamine sold in the U.S. under 2 brand and generic names, for hypotension and shock. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.

By the pharmaranks editorial teamReviewed against the FDA (openFDA label, NDC Directory & Enforcement) sourcesUpdated Jul 24, 2026How we research

Key facts

Drug class: Catecholamine
Treats: Hypotension and Shock
Available as: Injectable
Sold as: 2 products — Levophed and Norepinephrine Bitartrate in 0.9% Sodium Chloride
Prescription?: Prescription only
Generic available?: Not in our catalog

How norepinephrine is dosed

From the FDA label for Levophed (application NDA007513). Other norepinephrine products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.

Initial dose of 0.25 mL to 0.375 mL (from 8 mcg to 12 mcg of base) per minute, adjust the rate of flow to establish and maintain a low to normal blood pressure (usually 80 mm Hg to 100 mm Hg systolic) sufficient to maintain the circulation of vital organs. ( 2.2 ) • The average maintenance dose ranges from 0.0625 mL to 0.125 mL per minute (from 2 mcg to 4 mcg of base). ( 2.2 ) 2.1 Important Dosage and Administration Instructions Correct Hypovolemia Address hypovolemia before initiation of LEVOPHED therapy. If the patient does not respond to therapy, suspect occult hypovolemia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] . Administration Dilute LEVOPHED prior to use [see Dosage and Administration (2.3) ] . Infuse LEVOPHED into a large vein. Avoid infusions into the veins of the leg in the elderly or in patients with occlusive vascular disease of the legs [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ]. Avoid using a catheter-tie-in technique . Discontinuation When discontinuing the infusion, reduce the flow rate gradually. Avoid abrupt withdrawal. 2.2 Dosage After an initial dosage of 8 to 12 mcg per minute via intravenous infusion, assess patient response and adjust dosage to maintain desired hemodynamic effect. Monitor blood pressure every two minutes until the desired hemodynamic effect is achieved, and then monitor blood pressure every five minutes for the duration of the infusion. Typical…

Norepinephrine side effects

The following adverse reactions are described in greater detail in other sections: • Tissue Ischemia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] • Hypotension [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] • Cardiac Arrhythmias [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] The most common adverse reactions are hypertension and bradycardia. The following adverse reactions can occur: Nervous system disorders: Anxiety, headache Respiratory disorders: Respiratory difficulty, pulmonary edema Most common adverse reactions are ischemic injury, bradycardia, anxiety, transient headache, respiratory difficulty, and extravasation necrosis at injection site. ( 6 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Pfizer Inc. at 1-800-438-1985, or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch .

Who shouldn’t take norepinephrine

None. None. ( 4 )

Norepinephrine drug interactions

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) or antidepressants of the triptyline or imipramine types may result in hypertension. ( 7.1 ) • Cyclopropane and halothane anesthetics increase cardiac autonomic irritability. ( 7.4 ) 7.1 MAO-Inhibiting Drugs Co-administration of LEVOPHED with monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors or other drugs with MAO-inhibiting properties (e.g., linezolid) can cause severe, prolonged hypertension. If administration of LEVOPHED cannot be avoided in patients who recently have received any of these drugs and in whom, after discontinuation, MAO activity has not yet sufficiently recovered, monitor for hypertension. 7.2 Tricyclic Antidepressants Co-administration of LEVOPHED with tricyclic antidepressants (including amitriptyline, nortriptyline, protriptyline, clomipramine, desipramine, imipramine) can cause severe, prolonged hypertension. If administration of LEVOPHED cannot be avoided in these patients, monitor for hypertension. 7.3 Antidiabetics LEVOPHED can decrease insulin sensitivity and raise blood glucose. Monitor glucose and consider dosage adjustment of antidiabetic drugs. 7.4 Halogenated Anesthetics Concomitant use of LEVOPHED with halogenated anesthetics (e.g., cyclopropane, desflurane, enflurane, isoflurane, and sevoflurane) may lead to ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Monitor cardiac rhythm in patients receiving concomitant halogenated anesthetics.

Every norepinephrine product we track (2)

Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.

Norepinephrine products
#	Drug	Rating	Type	Form	Generic?	Pharmacy pays
1	Levophed	54/100	Prescription	Injectable	No data	—	View →
2	Norepinephrine Bitartrate in 0.9% Sodium Chloride	Not yet rated	Prescription	Injectable	No data	—	View →

Combination products containing norepinephrine

A combination is a different drug — different dosing, different warnings. It is listed here so you can find it, not so you can substitute it.

Norepinephrine recalls

From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.

How long norepinephrine keeps

The date on a sealed pack is not the only one: some norepinephrine labels start a second clock once the product is opened or mixed, as short as 7 days.

Does norepinephrine expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labels

Norepinephrine and breastfeeding

From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.

No information is available on the use of norepinephrine during breastfeeding. Because of its poor oral bioavailability and short half-life, any norepinephrine in milk is unlikely to affect the infant. High intravenous doses of norepinephrine might reduce milk production or milk letdown as well as decrease the concentration of beta-casein in milk.

Full LactMed record for norepinephrine: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider instead

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised December 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.

What people report to the FDA about norepinephrine

The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 2,805 reports naming norepinephrine, and the FDA flagged 94% 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:

hypotension295 reports
multiple organ dysfunction syndrome262 reports
sepsis258 reports
cardiogenic shock229 reports
stress216 reports
general physical health deterioration199 reports
vomiting187 reports
nausea184 reports

Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean norepinephrine 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 August 25, 2026.

Related calculators

How long it stays in your system →

Frequently asked questions

What is norepinephrine?

Norepinephrine (sometimes referred to as l-arterenol/Levarterenol or l-norepinephrine) is a sympathomimetic amine which differs from epinephrine by the absence of a methyl group on the nitrogen atom.

What kind of drug is norepinephrine?

The FDA classifies norepinephrine as a catecholamine. Catecholamines such as epinephrine and norepinephrine are "fight or flight" messengers that switch on adrenergic (alpha and beta) receptors throughout the body, speeding the heart, raising blood pressure by tightening blood vessels, and opening the airways. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.

Can you take norepinephrine 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 norepinephrine against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.

What brand names is norepinephrine sold under?

We track 2 norepinephrine-containing products in the U.S.: Levophed and Norepinephrine Bitartrate in 0.9% Sodium Chloride. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.

What forms does norepinephrine come in?

Across the brands we track, norepinephrine 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 norepinephrine?

We do not currently list a generic-labelled norepinephrine 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.

Has norepinephrine been recalled?

The FDA's Enforcement database lists at least 5 recall records whose product description mentions norepinephrine. The most recent: norepinephrine Bitartrate (Mar 20, 2026). A recall applies to specific lots, not to the drug as a whole — check the record for the affected lot numbers.

Cite this page

APA: pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Norepinephrine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/norepinephrine
MLA: “Norepinephrine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/norepinephrine.

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 norepinephrine on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.