Bretylium tosilate 100mg/2ml solution for injection ampoules
Bretylium blocks the release of noradrenaline from the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, and is used in emergency medicine, cardiology, and other specialties for the acute management of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Bretylium
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Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Bretylium
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
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Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF code shown is the factual mapping value distributed by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in the dm+d supplementary file under OGL v3.0; it is not affiliated with, nor licensed from, the publishers of the British National Formulary. ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing all 18 studies.
Randomised trials: 1 · 1961–2025
Showing all 18 studies, sorted by most relevant.
ROBERT E. Haynes, Tina L. Chinn, M. Copass, et al.
The American journal of cardiology, 1981
- Bretylium Compounds
- Bretylium Tosylate
- Clinical Trials as Topic
P. Kowey, J. Levine, J. Herre, et al.
Circulation, 1995
- Amiodarone
- Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
- Bretylium Tosylate
A. Boura, A. F. Green
British Journal of Pharmacology, 1997
- Bretylium Compounds
- Cats
- Guinea Pigs
D. Kellogg, John M. Johnson, W. Kosiba
The American journal of physiology, 1989
- Bretylium Compounds
- Hot Temperature
- Iontophoresis
R. Cass, T. Spriggs
British journal of pharmacology and chemotherapy, 1961
- Autonomic Nerve Block
- Bretylium Compounds
- Guanethidine
M. Bacaner
The American journal of cardiology, 1968
M. Bacaner
American Journal of Cardiology, 1968
- Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
- Bretylium Compounds
- Dogs
G. Hertting, J. Axelrod, R. W. Patrick
British journal of pharmacology and chemotherapy, 1962
- Bretylium Compounds
- Catecholamines
- Guanethidine
A. Hord, D. Michael, Brian, et al.
Anesthesia and analgesia, 1992
- Bretylium Compounds
- Lidocaine
- Autonomic Nerve Block
J. Bigger, Conrade C. Jaffe
The American journal of cardiology, 1971
- Action Potentials
- Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
- Bretylium Compounds
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
9 found
Half-life
0.6 hours
Mechanism
Bretylium inhibits norepinephrine release by depressing adrenergic nerve terminal excitability.
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
2 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Half-life
0.6 hours
Metabolism
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1008 interactions
Marked hypertension resulted, followed by protracted refractory hypotension. The patient expired 18 hours later in asystole, complicated by renal failure and aspiration pneumonitis. Bretylium serum levels were 8000 ng/mL.
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:29499166 PMID:30388404
Could also be part of an osmosensory signaling pathway that senses body-fluid sodium levels and controls salt intake behavior as well as voluntary water intake to regulate sodium homeostasis (By similarity)
Involved in the regulation of sleep/wake behaviors PMID:31473062
ATC C01BD02
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Bretylium
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
5917
ChemSpider
2337
BindingDB
50239966
ZINC
ZINC000000001041
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:799
GenAtlas
ATP1A1
GeneCards
ATP1A1
GenBank Gene Database
D00099
GenBank Protein Database
219942
UniProt Accession
AT1A1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:285
GenAtlas
ADRB1
GeneCards
ADRB1
GenBank Gene Database
J03019
GenBank Protein Database
178200
Guide to Pharmacology
28
UniProt Accession
ADRB1_HUMAN
DrugBank citations
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Structured knowledge from the free knowledge base
ATC classifications (Wikidata)
Linked open data from Wikidata (Q420026), a free and open knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication.