Skip to main content

Dopamine...soon will be part of History

Soon Dopamine will be part of history of medicine...

This is because of  two main  reasons:

First, renal sparing low dose dopamine was disproven.

Second two big studies published in 2010 pushed Dopamine  further into darkness

The SOAP II study had 1600 patients and another one printed in Shock had 250 patients.

Both studies randomised patients in shock and in need of vasopressors to either dopamine or noradrenaline. Both made the same conclusion.

There was no significant overall difference in 28-day mortality, but the dopamine group had significantly higher incidence of arrhythmia.

The dopamine sub-group with cardiogenic shock actually did show a higher mortality compared to noradrenaline. Cardiogenic shock is exactly the group where dopamine was recommended by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines.

So as you see Dopamine is suffering to survive...this may not be the end of Dopamine,but for the time being other vasopressors like noradrenaline seems like the safest vasopressor choice in shock patients. Also – or even especially – in cardiogenic shock.


N Engl J Med. 2010 Mar 4;362(9):779-89

Shock. 2010 Apr;33(4):375-80:

Comments

  1. non-catecholamine inotropes are the best bet in cardiogenic shock along with other non-pharmacologic measures to improve preload. don't blame poor dopamine for the mishaps. it's merely poor drug selection. using a combination of dobutamine and noradrenaline may be just as good. even adrenaline works well. but non-catecholamine inotropes are very important in the management of cardiogenic shock. vasopressors only play a supportive role during initial management.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The pressure volume loop...

In the pressure-volume loop below, cardiac work is best represented by:   the area of the curve  the slope of the line from points C to D  the distance of the line from points C to D  the slope of a line from points A to D .. .. ... .... ... .... .... .... In the pressure-volume loop below, cardiac work is best represented by:  the area of the curve Cardiac work is the product of pressure and volume and is linearly related to myocardial oxygen consumption. Cardiac work is best represented by the area of the curve of a pressure-volume loop.

Driving Pressure in ARDS: A new concept!

Driving Pressure and Survival in the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Marcelo B.P. Amato, M.D., Maureen O. Meade, M.D., Arthur S. Slutsky, M.D., Laurent Brochard, M.D., Eduardo L.V. Costa, M.D., David A. Schoenfeld, Ph.D., Thomas E. Stewart, M.D., Matthias Briel, M.D., Daniel Talmor, M.D., M.P.H., Alain Mercat, M.D., Jean-Christophe M. Richard, M.D., Carlos R.R. Carvalho, M.D., and Roy G. Brower, M.D. N Engl J Med 2015; 372:747-755 February 19, 2015 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa1410639 BACKGROUND Mechanical-ventilation strategies that use lower end-inspiratory (plateau) airway pressures, lower tidal volumes (V T ), and higher positive end-expiratory pressures (PEEPs) can improve survival in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but the relative importance of each of these components is uncertain. Because respiratory-system compliance (C RS ) is strongly related to the volume of aerated remaining functional lung during disease (termed functional lung size)...

Anaphylaxis updates part 2- Empty Ventricle Syndrome

Patients with anaphylaxis should not suddenly sit, stand, or be placed in the upright position. Instead, they should be placed on the back with their lower extremities elevated or, if they are experiencing respiratory distress or vomiting, they should be placed in a position of comfort with their lower extremities elevated. This accomplishes 2 therapeutic goals: 1) preservation of fluid in the circulation (the central vascular compartment), an important step in managing distributive shock; and 2) prevention of the empty vena cava/empty ventricle syndrome, which can occur within seconds when patients with anaphylaxis suddenly assume or are placed in an upright position. Patients with this syndrome are at high risk for sudden death. They are unlikely to respond to epinephrine regardless of route of administration, because it does not reach the heart and therefore cannot be circulated throughout the body