What it means
A reduced drive to breathe, most often caused by drugs that slow the brain's breathing center, such as opioids, benzodiazepines, alcohol and anesthetics, especially when combined. It can also follow a brain injury or stroke. Clients become sleepier as it develops, and sedation usually comes before the breathing slows.
For the nurse
Check sedation level and respiratory rate and depth before and after giving opioids. A client who is hard to wake or breathing fewer than about 10 times a minute needs prompt action: stimulate them, stop the opioid, give oxygen, call for help and give naloxone as ordered.
At a glance
| Spanish | depresión respiratoria |
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Related terms
opioid analgesic
A strong drug that relieves moderate to severe pain by acting on the brain and spinal cord.
sedative-hypnotic
A drug that calms a person (sedative) or helps them fall asleep (hypnotic); the same drug can do either, depending on the dose.
bradypnea
Breathing that is slower than normal for the person's age.
patient-controlled analgesia
A way of giving pain medicine in which the client presses a button to give themselves a set dose from a programmed pump.