title: Ranitidine or dobutamine alone or combined has no effect on gastric intramucosal-arterial PCO(2) difference after cardiac surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that ranitidine, either alone or in combination with dobutamine, modifies the gastric intramucosal-arterial PCO(2) difference.
  
  
  METHODS
  Full factorial design (double-blinded for ranitidine).
  
  
  METHODS
  Intensive Care Unit of a university hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-four haemodynamically stable coronary artery bypass surgery patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ranitidine (150 mg preoperatively per os and 50 mg intravenously postoperatively) and dobutamine (4 micro g. kg(-1). min(-1) for 3 h postoperatively) were administered in four randomised groups of patients: preoperative and postoperative ranitidine, either alone (n = 15) or in combination with dobutamine (n = 17), dobutamine alone (n = 15) or neither ranitidine nor dobutamine (n = 17).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gastric intramucosal-arterial PCO(2) difference was measured during the first 5 postoperative hours. No differences in the postoperative pattern of gastric intramucosal-arterial PCO(2) difference were found among the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ranitidine and dobutamine have no effect on the gastric tonometry results on intramucosal-arterial PCO(2) difference after uncomplicated cardiac surgery. Hence, the routine use of H(2)-antagonists for gastrointestinal tonometry is not warranted. Our results must be limited to results obtained by tonometry; they do not allow any conclusions on the effects of these drugs on splanchnic blood flow or its distribution.
authors.affiliation: Critical Care Research Program, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Kuopio University Hospital, FIN-70210 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Väisänen
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruokonen
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Parviainen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bocek
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takala
mesh_terms: D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000097:blood*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D004280:Dobutamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011899:Ranitidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D004280:Dobutamine; D011899:Ranitidine