[The controversial use of dopamine in major vascular surgery]

Major vascular surgery patients are at great risk of renal failure. Several pharmacological and non pharmacological strategies have been developed to prevent renal failure in those patients. Renal doses of dopamine were used, based on its beneficial effects on renal function, in animals and healthy individuals. However, major vascular surgery patients are often critically ill, with diverse pathophysiological conditions and they cannot be easily compared to healthy individuals. There are, nowadays, enough scientific evidence demonstrating that renal doses of dopamine do not play a significant protective role of renal function in these critically ill patients.