title: Dobutamine increases heart rate more than epinephrine in patients recovering from aortocoronary bypass surgery.
abstract: To determine whether epinephrine might prove to be a cost-effective substitute for dobutamine, two 8-minute infusions of either epinephrine (10 and 30 ng/kg/min, n = 28) or dobutamine (2.5 and 5 micrograms/kg/min, n = 24) were administered to 52 patients recovering in the intensive care unit (ICU) after aortocoronary bypass (CABG) surgery. At the higher dose, both drugs significantly (P < .05) increased cardiac index (CI), epinephrine from 2.8 +/- 0.1 at baseline to 3.3 +/- 0.1 L/min/m2, and dobutamine from 3.2 +/- 0.1 at baseline to 4.1 +/- 0.2 L/min/m2. Epinephrine increased CI significantly less than dobutamine. Both drugs significantly increased stroke volume index (SVI), epinephrine from 32 +/- 1 at baseline to 36 +/- 1 mL/beat/m2, and dobutamine from 36 +/- 1 at baseline to 40 +/- 2 mL/beat/m2. At the higher dose, the effects of the two drugs on SVI were indistinguishable. On the other hand, while the higher dose of both drugs significantly increased heart rate (HR), epinephrine from 88 +/- 2 at baseline to 90 +/- 2 beats/min and dobutamine from 89 +/- 2 at baseline to 105 +/- 3 beats/min, the increase following the higher dose of dobutamine was significantly greater than that seen after epinephrine. Effects of the two drugs on mean arterial pressure, central venous pressure, pulmonary artery occlusion pressure, systemic vascular resistance, pulmonary vascular resistance, and left-ventricular stroke work did not significantly differ. Similar results were obtained in the subset of patients with baseline CI less than 3 L/min/m2 who more closely resembled patients who might acutely require inotropic drug administration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, Bowman Gray School of Medicine Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Butterworth
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Prielipp
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Royster
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Spray
authors.forename: N D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Kon
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wallenhaupt
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Zaloga
mesh_terms: D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000187:drug effects; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004280:Dobutamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000502:physiology; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000187:drug effects; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000187:drug effects; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004280:Dobutamine; D004837:Epinephrine