Effect of droperidol on dopamine-induced increase in effective renal plasma flow in dogs

The interaction between small doses of dopamine and droperidol on effective renal plasma flow was studied in dogs. Small doses of dopamine are known to produce renal vasodilatation by a dopaminergic mechanism and droperidol, a selective dopamine antagonist used in neuroleptanaesthesia, may attenuate this response. Effective renal plasma flow was measured non-invasively using 125I-hippuran. A 20-min infusion of dopamine 2 microgram kg-1 min-1 significantly enhanced effective renal plasma flow (mean increase of 16%; P < 0.05) in anaesthetized dogs. This effect was abolished (mean decrease 6.6%) by droperidol 0.2 mg kg-1 administered at the commencement of anaesthesia. It is concluded that droperidol reduces the renal vasodilatation induced by dopamine in anaesthetized dogs.