Survey of the use of catecholamines by French physicians.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to perform a descriptive approach of the current use of catecholamines by French physicians.


METHODS
A questionnaire of 12 questions with 4 items established by a group of French intensivists.


METHODS
French physicians from 433 departments working in the following practicing areas: intensive care unit (ICU), emergency department, and pre-hospital setting.


METHODS
Responding physicians were asked about the catecholamine that they would select in various clinical settings.


RESULTS
The response rate was 82%. Of the responding physicians, 277 (78%) worked in an ICU, 28 (8%) in an emergency department, and 21 (6%) in a pre-hospital setting. Dobutamine was chosen for patients with cardiogenic shock by 90% of the respondents. Norepinephrine was the first choice agent as vasopressor in patients with septic shock in 52% of the cases. Dopamine was selected in a clinical setting requiring an optimization of regional blood flow, as in the concept of high-risk surgical patients. Dopexamine was used as a second or third choice agent to improve regional blood flow and cardiac output. The indications of epinephrine for anaphylactic shock and cardio-circulatory arrest were obvious for more than 90% of responding physicians.


CONCLUSIONS
A lack of standardization appears in the use of catecholamines by French physicians, particularly for improvement of regional circulation and management of high-risk surgical patients. Guidelines that define the place of each catecholamine in these settings are required to improve the quality of prescription.
Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care and Trauma Center, Marseille University Hospital System, Marseille School of Medicine, 13915 Marseille cedex 20, France. Marc.Leone@ap-hm.fr
Marc
M
Leone
Benoit
B
Vallet
Jean-Louis
JL
Teboul
Joachim
J
Mateo
Olivier
O
Bastien
Claude
C
Martin
D002395:Catecholamines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012770:Shock, Cardiogenic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D002395:Catecholamines