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Stability of dopamine and epinephrine solutions up to 84 hours
N S Ghanayem1, L Yee, T Nelson
1Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA.
Objectives:
The current practice of preparing fresh dopamine and epinephrine solutions every 24 hrs may lead to hemodynamic instability caused by the interruption of infusions with each change. We determined the stability of these catecholamines over an 84-hr period and whether stability was enhanced by dextrose-containing solutions.
Setting:
Tertiary care teaching hospital.
Design:
The stability of dopamine and epinephrine, each at three commonly used concentrations, was studied in three vehicles (10 gm/dl dextrose in water [D10W], 5 gm/dl dextrose in water [D5W], and 0.9% NaCl in water [NS]). To mimic clinical conditions, solutions were placed on syringe pumps infusing continuously into a closed system at ambient temperature for 84 hrs.
Measurements:
Concentrations of dopamine in mg/ml and epinephrine in microg/ml were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography at 0, 24, 36, 48, 72, and 84 hrs.
Results:
Dopamine and epinephrine concentrations did not change over the 84-hr period regardless of the vehicles in which the drugs were prepared.
Conclusions:
Clinically relevant concentrations of dopamine and epinephrine remain stable in dextrose- and saline-containing solutions for >or=84 hrs. These data suggest that solutions of these catecholamines may safely be used in clinical practice beyond the currently recommended 24 hrs.