Endotracheal versus intravenous epinephrine during electromechanical dissociation with CPR in dogs

The dose-response curves of epinephrine given either IV or endotracheally (ET) were compared during resuscitation from electromechanical dissociation (EMD). Ten anesthetized dogs were subjected to a two-minute period of electrically induced ventricular fibrillation (VF) followed by defibrillation without CPR to produce EMD. Mechanical CPR was followed by injection of either ET or IV epinephrine. Successful response was defined as a return of pulsatile blood pressure within two minutes of drug administration. Using log-dose increments of epinephrine, experimental trials were repeated in each animal. The IV and ET median effective doses were 14 and 130 micrograms/kg, respectively. When the trials were successful, the time between drug administration and either arterial blood pressure increases or return of spontaneous circulation did not differ significantly for the ET and IV groups. These results show that the dosage for epinephrine delivered ET must be higher than the IV dosage to achieve the same response during CPR.