[Methylprednisolone attenuates desensitization to catecholamine after its long-term infusion]

Methylprednisolone (MP), a prototype of glucocorticoids, was administered to patients with shock, low output syndrome and cardiac failure who had required long-term infusion of dopamine (DOA) and/or dobutamine (DOB), when they showed signs of desensitization to catecholamines (CA). Subjects were 141 patients selected from 37 hospitals. The mean infusion periods were 7.0 days with DOA and 7.5 days with DOB. MP elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly for 1 to 6 hours, concomitantly with increased urinary output. The results suggest that MP could attenuate down regulation of adrenoreceptors induced by long-term CA infusion.