title: Relationships between dopamine infusions and intracranial hemodynamics in patients with raised intracranial pressure.
abstract: Dopamine, 1-10 micrograms/kg body weight/min was infused in 6 patients suffering from cerebrovascular diseases with elevated intracranial pressure and a critical cerebral perfusion pressure. Dopamine decreased intracranial pressure in 3 and increased it moderately in the other 3 patients. In all patients, the dopamine-induced rise of mean arterial pressure led to an increase of cerebral perfusion pressure. Transcranial Doppler ultrasonographic recordings of the middle cerebral artery in patients whose intracranial pressure declined revealed a decrease of the pathologically elevated cerebrovascular resistance, and an augmentation of cerebral blood supply. In conclusion, dopamine infusions may improve cerebral hemodynamics in some patients with severe brain edema. Such patients can be identified by intracranial pressure and Doppler monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nau
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sander
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klingelhöfer
mesh_terms: D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D004298:Dopamine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004453:Echoencephalography; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007427:Intracranial Pressure / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation; D011559:Pseudotumor Cerebri / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine