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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Hemodynamic effects of dobutamine in children with cardiovascular failure.

subject

description

The effect of dobutamine, a synthetic catecholamine, was studied in 12 patients aged one day to 14 years with low cardiac output syndromes. After initial stabilization of the patients dobutamine was administered by continuous infusion in a dosage of 7.5 or 10 μg/kg/min. Heart rate, cardiac output (using thermodilution technique and/or pulse contour method), mean systemic and mean pulmonary artery pressures were determined before and after the dobutamine infusion. Systemic and pulmonary vascular resistances, cardiac index and stroke volume index were calculated. Cardiac output and cardiac index increased significantly in every patient, whereas the heart rate changed only slightly, suggesting that the increase in cardiac output was mainly due to the alteration of stroke volume. The mean arterial pressure increased significantly, but the mean pulmonary artery pressure was unchanged. No side effects were observed during the dobutamine infusion. Dobutamine is a potent inotropic drug with limited chronotropic and peripheral vascular effects in newborns, infants and chidren.