Etomidate

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTATION Do not administer unless solution is clear and container is undamaged. Discard unused portion (see). Etomidate Injection is intended for administration only by the intravenous route (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY ). The dose for induction of anesthesia in adult patients and in pediatric patients above the age of ten years will vary between 0.2 mg/kg and 0.6 mg/kg of body weight, and it must be individualized in each case. The usual dose for induction in these patients is 0.3 mg/kg, injected over a period of 30 to 60 seconds. There are inadequate data to make dosage recommendations for induction of anesthesia in patients below the age of ten years; therefore, such use is not recommended. Geriatric patients may require reduced doses of etomidate. Smaller increments of intravenous etomidate may be administered to adult patients during short operative procedures to supplement subpotent anesthetic agents, such as nitrous oxide. The dosage employed under these circumstances, although usually smaller than the original induction dose, must be individualized.