Adrenaline/epinephrine and noradrenaline/norepinephrine name change to adrenaline and noradrenaline
Recently, we have been reviewing and standardising drug names across BNF and BNF for Children (BNFC). Generally, drug names are aligned to the Recommended International Non-proprietary Names (rINN), to which British Approved Names (BAN) are harmonised. We also consider the naming used in the NHS dictionary of medicines and devices (dm+d) and in medical and product literature.
There are 2 drug monographs in the BNF and BNFC that have had dual naming: ‘adrenaline/epinephrine’ and ‘noradrenaline/norepinephrine’ which was introduced in the early 2000s. At that time, there were some concerns about using the rINNs (epinephrine and norepinephrine) as these names were less commonly used in clinical practice in the UK and could be confused with similarly named drugs such as ephedrine. We therefore aligned with the BAN dual naming.
Since then, the names adrenaline and noradrenaline have continued to be the commonly used names in UK practice. We therefore recently updated these to use a single drug name for the title, with the alternative name included as a synonym. This means that adrenaline/epinephrine has been renamed to adrenaline, with epinephrine included as a synonym. Similarly, noradrenaline/norepinephrine has been renamed to noradrenaline, with norepinephrine included as a synonym. The drug names and their synonyms are searchable in the BNF + BNFC app or online versions, and all will appear individually in the index of print copies from BNF 92 and BNFC 2026-2027 onwards. Additionally, this move to use a single drug name for the title of drug monographs ensures compatibility with computer systems that use BNF and BNFC content, such as electronic prescribing systems.
These updates can be viewed in the adrenaline and noradrenaline drug monographs. The rigorous content creation process followed by the editorial team is described here.
