Another nail in the hammer's coffin?
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* Corresponding author: Mervyn Singer m.singer@ucl.ac.uk
Bloomsbury Institute of Intensive Care Medicine, University College London, Cruciform Building, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Critical Care 2011, 15:179 doi:10.1186/cc10311
See related research by Shahin et al., http://ccforum.com/content/15/4/R162 and related letter by Hajjar et al., http://ccforum.com/content/15/5/444
Published: 8 August 2011Abstract
Blood pressure saggy? Cardiac output low? Oliguria? Increasing acidosis? Peripheries a bit cool? Poor cardiac history? No problem. Just start some dobutamine and watch the numbers improve. And if the patient happens to die, that is their fault. Or is it? Catecholamines are long-established drugs that have never undergone formal testing of long-term outcomes and safety. Their use requires re-evaluation in the light of a wide range of deleterious actions and retrospective studies suggesting harm.