title: Comparison of standard and high-dose adrenaline in the resuscitation of asystole and electromechanical dissociation.
abstract: Sixty-eight adults with cardiac arrest (asystole and electromechanical dissociation) were randomly allocated for treatment with standard (1 mg) or high-dose epinephrine (5 mg). If the first dose of adrenaline (1 or 5 mg) failed, standardized advanced life-support was applied in all cases. High-dose adrenaline was associated with higher initial resuscitation success rates (16 of 28) than standard-dose adrenaline (6 of 40), whereas hospital discharge rates were not significantly different between the groups. Blood pressure was significantly higher in the high-dose adrenaline group in comparison to the standard dose at 1 and 5 min after resuscitation. Although high-dose adrenaline appears to improve cardiac resuscitation success, the duration of global cerebral ischaemia seems to determine the ultimate outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, University of Ulm, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lindner
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Ahnefeld
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Prengel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012151:Resuscitation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004837:Epinephrine