Levels of catecholamines, arginine vasopressin and atrial natriuretic peptide in hypotensive extremely low birth weight infants in the first 24 hours after birth.
BACKGROUND
Extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI) often suffer from severe hypotension in the early neonatal period. However, few previous studies have ever revealed plasma levels of vasoactive substances which regulate the cardiovascular system in ELBWI.


OBJECTIVE
To study plasma levels of vasoactive substances in ELBWI with hypotension during the first 24 h of life.


METHODS
22 ELBWI with hypotension (gestational age 26.4 +/- 1.9 weeks; birth weight 751 +/- 135 g) were involved in the study. After initial volume therapy, the infants were arbitrarily divided into two groups depending on requirement of dopamine dosage: severe hypotension group (SH; dopamine >10 microg/kg/min, n = 9) and mild hypotension group (MH; dopamine <or=10 microg/kg/min, n = 13). Plasma levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, arginine vasopressin, and atrial natriuretic peptide were measured at admission and at 24 h after birth.


RESULTS
Infants in the SH group had higher plasma dopamine than infants in the MH group both at admission (median; range: 14,410; 224-46,770 vs. 7,900; 32-21,220 pg/ml, p < 0.05) and at 24 h (80,920; 494-146,100 vs. 25,680; 10,130-63,180 pg/ml; p < 0.05). The norepinephrine/dopamine ratio (median; range) was lower in the SH group than in the MH group at admission (0.3; 0.0-1.0 vs. 1.1; 0.1-25.1; p < 0.01). Plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide or arginine vasopressin were not different between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
ELBWI with SH may have decreased conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine. We speculate that this mechanism may contribute to development of SH in ELBWI.
Ezaki
Shoichi
S
Division of Neonatal Medicine, Center for Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan. s_ezaki@saitama-med.ac.jp
Suzuki
Keiji
K
Kurishima
Clara
C
Miura
Masumi
M
Moriwaki
Koichi
K
Arakawa
Hiroshi
H
Kunikata
Tetsuya
T
Sobajima
Hisanori
H
Tamura
Masanori
M
D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000097:blood*; D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000097:blood*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D007022:Hypotension / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D052577:Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight / Q000097:blood*; D007231:Infant, Newborn
D002316:Cardiotonic Agents; D002395:Catecholamines; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor; D004298:Dopamine