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Sodium Nitroprusside

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Critical Care Toxicology

Abstract

Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) entered into clinical practice in 1955 and gained popularity as a vasodilator for hypertensive emergencies because of its rapid onset of action and short duration, which allowed for bedside titration to the desired effect [1]. The introduction of a freeze-dried preparation in 1974 was followed by an additional increase in popularity, and it continued to gain favor for producing controlled hypotension during anesthesia and afterload reduction during low cardiac output states. Availability of alternative agents has more recently limited use of SNP for hypertensive emergencies. However, novel applications, such as for the treatment of schizophrenia, are under investigation [2].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Toxicology, Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Steven C. Curry & Meghan B. Spyres

Authors
  1. Steven C. Curry
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  2. Meghan B. Spyres
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven C. Curry .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Jeffrey Brent

  2. FDA, Office of New Drugs/Immediate Office, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

    Keith Burkhart

  3. Clinical Toxicology, St Thomas’ Hospital, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

    Paul Dargan

  4. Toxicology Associates, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Benjamin Hatten

  5. Medical Toxicological Intensive Care Unit, Lariboisiere Hospital, Paris-Diderot University, Paris, France

    Bruno Megarbane

  6. Toxicology Associates, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Robert Palmer

  7. Toxinology Department, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Julian White

Grading System for Levels of Evidence Supporting Recommendations in Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd Edition

  1. I

    Evidence obtained from at least one properly randomized controlled trial.

  2. II-1

    Evidence obtained from well-designed controlled trials without randomization.

  3. II-2

    Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies, preferably from more than one center or research group.

  4. II-3

    Evidence obtained from multiple time series with or without the intervention. Dramatic results in uncontrolled experiments (such as the results of the introduction of penicillin treatment in the 1940s) could also be regarded as this type of evidence.

  5. III

    Opinions of respected authorities, based on clinical experience, descriptive studies and case reports, or reports of expert committees.

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Curry, S.C., Spyres, M.B. (2017). Sodium Nitroprusside. In: Brent, J., et al. Critical Care Toxicology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17900-1_10

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