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Metaraminol 0.5 mg / ml solution for injection in Pre-filled syringe – patient leaflet, side effects, dosage

Updated:
Key facts
Status:
Prescription only (POM)
Medicine strength:
0.5 mg / ml (500 microgram/ml)
Other strengths and forms:
Contains active substance:
ATC code:
Similar medicines?:

Sources: Original (products.mhra.gov.uk) · About this document

Patient leaflet - Metaraminol 0.5 mg / ml solution for injection in Pre-filled syringe

1. What Metaraminol injection is and what it is used for

Metaraminol injection belongs to a group of medicines

called vasopressors which work by narrowing the blood

vessels causing blood pressure to rise.

It is used to raise low blood pressure to normal levels in an

emergency situation.

2. What you need to know before you are given Metaraminol injection

You will be given this medicine in hospital by a doctor or

nurse.

You should not be given this medicine:

  • if you are allergic to metaraminol or any of the other

    ingredients in this medicine (listed in section 6).

  • with cyclopropane or halothane (inhaled anaesthetics)

    unless your doctor sees a clinical need to do so.

Warnings and precautions

Talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse before you are given

Metaraminol injection:

  • if you have liver disease
  • if you have heart disease

  • if you have high blood pressure

    • if you have thyroid disease
    • if you have diabetes
    • if you have or have ever had malaria

Children and adolescents

This medicine is not recommended for use in children below the age of 12 years.

Other medicines and Metaraminol injection

Please tell your doctor if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription. It is especially important if you are taking:

  • anaesthetics that are inhaled such as halothane or cyclopropane;
  • digitalis medicines (such as digoxin) which may cause an irregular heartbeat;
  • medicines used to treat depression;
  • inhibitors of alpha receptors of the sympathetic nervous system that are used to treat hypertension among others;
  • oxytocin, a medicine used during labour or delivery;
  • ergot alkaloids, a type of medicine used for headache;
  • doxapram, a medicine used to treat breathing problems;
  • guanethidine and related medicines, used to treat high blood pressure.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding

If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor for advice before you are given this medicine.

The effects of this medicine on the unborn baby is unknown. It is not known whether this medicine is present in breast milk. You will only be given this medicine if your doctor sees the clinical need to do so in an emergency situation. Driving and using machines

Metaraminol injection may affect your ability to drive or operate machines. Ask your doctor about when it would be safe to drive or operate machines.

Metaraminol injection contains sodium

5 ml syringe:

This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per 5 ml syringe, that is to say essentially “sodium-free”. 10 ml syringe:

This medicine contains 35.4 mg sodium (main component of cooking/table salt) in each 10 ml syringe. This is equivalent to 1.8 % of the recommended maximum daily dietary intake of sodium for an adult.

3. How Metaraminol injection is given

This medicine will be administered by a healthcare professional with appropriate training and relevant experience.

Your doctor will decide the most suitable dosage for your particular case according to your age and medical condition, as well as for the site of injection, and your response to the injection.

If you receive more Metaraminol injection than you should

Since this medicine is administered to you by a trained healthcare professional, it is unlikely that you will be given too much of Metaraminol injection.

You will be carefully monitored by your doctor for symptoms or severely high blood pressure (see symptoms in Section 4 Possible Side Effects).

If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor, pharmacist or nurse.

4. Possible side effects

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Some side effects may be serious. Seek immediately medical help if you experience the following symptoms that may be due to severely high blood pressure:

  • Shortness of breath
  • Chest pain
  • Slow or irregular heart beat
  • Headaches
  • Feeling sick

Other side effects may include:

Very common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people)

  • Headaches
  • High blood pressure

Rare (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people)

  • Abscess formation; tissue necrosis; sloughing Not known (cannot be estimated from the available data)
  • Feeling worried, fear, confusion, irritability, change in your personality or the way you feel or think, sweating
  • Restlessness, dizziness, insomnia
  • Flushing, low blood pressure
  • Cold extremities
  • Pain in the extremities
  • Nausea and vomitting
  • Dificulty passing urine

Reporting of side effects

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this lealet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

5. How to store Metaraminol injection

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children. You should not be given this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the syringe label, blister and carton. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month. Your doctor or nurse will check this.

Keep the syringe in its unopened blister until use. Do not freeze.

Do not use this medicine if you notice visible signs of deterioration.

Any syringe, even partially used, should be discarded appropriately after use. Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.

6. Contents of the pack and other information

What Metaraminol injection contains

The active substance is Metaraminol tartrate:

  • Each ml of solution for injection contains 0.5 mg of metaraminol (as tartrate).
  • Each 5 ml pre-illed syringe contains 2.5 mg of metaraminol (as tartrate).
  • Each 10 ml pre-illed syringe contains 5 mg of metaraminol (as tartrate).

The other ingredients are sodium chloride, hydrochloric acid, and water for injections.

What Metaraminol injection looks like and contents of the pack

Metaraminol injection is a clear colourless solution, in a 5 ml or 10 ml polypropylene pre-illed syringe, individually packaged in a transparent blister pack.

Marketing Authorisation Holder

Laboratoire Aguettant

1, rue Alexander Fleming

69007 Lyon

France

Manufacturer

Laboratoire Aguettant

Lieu Dit Chantecaille

07340 Champagne

France

Distributed by:

AGUETTANT Ltd

N°1, Farleigh House - Flax Bourton

BRISTOL - BS48 1UR - United Kingdom

This lealet was last revised in 04/2023.

Detailed information on this medicine is available on the website of Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

  1. 4) Check the syringe seal tip has been completely removed. If not, replace the cap and twist again.
  2. 5) Expel the air by gently pushing the plunger.
  3. 6) Connect the syringe to the vascular access device. Push the plunger slowly to inject the required volume.
  4. 2)

    Push on the plunger to free the bung.

    The sterilisation process may have caused adhesion of the bung to the body of the syringe.

  5. 1) Withdraw the pre-illed syringe from the sterile blister.
  6. 3)

    Twist off the end cap to break the seal.

    Do not touch the exposed luer connection in order to avoid contamination.

About this document

Source: MHRA - Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (products.mhra.gov.uk) · Marketing authorisation: PL 14434/0042

Last revision stated in the text: April 2023 · MHRA data as of 13 October 2026

What the sections and the side effect frequencies mean: How to read a patient leaflet

Found a mistake? Tell us on the contact page.

The information on this site does not replace the advice of a doctor or pharmacist.

Facts about Metaraminol 0.5 mg / ml solution for injection in Pre-filled syringe

What these facts mean

Prescription needed?? Yes, prescription-only medicine (POM)
Active substance? Metaraminol
Strength? 0.5 mg / ml (500 microgram/ml)
Pharmaceutical form? Solution for injection
Clear and colourless solution
pH: 3.2 to 3.8
Osmolality: 270-330 mOsm/kg
How is it taken? Intravenous
Excipients? Sodium Chloride, Hydrochloric acid (for pH adjustement), Water for injections
Pack sizes 10 pre-filled disposable injection
Is it available?? Listed as available (NHS Dictionary of Medicines and Devices – not a record of current supplies)
Shelf life? 2 years.
Storage Keep the syringe in its unopened blister until use. Do not freeze.
Drug group (ATC)? Adrenergic and dopaminergic agent
  1. C Cardiovascular system drugs
    1. C01 Cardiac therapy drugs
      1. C01C Cardiac stimulants excl. cardiac glycosides
        1. C01CA Adrenergic and dopaminergic cardiac stimulants
          1. C01CA09 metaraminol
Marketing authorisation? PL 14434/0042 (first authorised 25 March 2025)
Marketing authorisation holder? Laboratoire Aguettant
Codes? GTIN 3700567701095

Sources: the MHRA product information (products.mhra.gov.uk) and the NHS Dictionary of Medicines and Devices (dm+d), release 11.1.0 of 9 November 2026, NHS Business Services Authority. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.