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Amrinone versus dopamine-nitroglycerin after reconstructive surgery for complete atrioventricular septal defect
P Laitinen1, J M Happonen, H Sairanen
1Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Objectives:
To compare the effectiveness and safety of amrinone and a combination of dopamine and nitroglycerin in infants after reconstructive surgery for congenital heart disease.
Design:
A prospective, randomized, double-blind study.
Setting:
Pediatric intensive care unit in a university hospital.
Participants:
Thirty-two infants with complete atrioventricular septal defect.
Interventions:
Amrinone loading dose, 2 mg/kg, followed by a maintenance infusion, 7.5 micrograms/kg/min, was given to 17 infants before separation from cardiopulmonary bypass. The remaining 15 patients received a combination of dopamine, 5 micrograms/kg/min, and nitroglycerin, 1 microgram/kg/min.
Measurements And Main Results:
The circulatory state of the patients was evaluated from 4 to 18 hours after cardiopulmonary bypass. The systemic blood flow index, calculated using the Fick principle, was higher in the amrinone group (2.5 +/- 0.7 L/min/m2) compared with the dopamine-nitroglycerin group (2.0 +/- 0.6 L/min/m2, mean +/- SD). The pulmonary blood flow index in the amrinone group was higher (2.9 +/- 0.6 L/min/m2) than in the dopamine-nitroglycerin group (2.2 +/- 0.6 L/min/m2); no significant difference was noted in the mean pulmonary artery pressure. The oxygen extraction ratio was higher in the dopamine-nitroglycerin group (0.41 +/- 0.07) compared with the amrinone group (0.34 +/- 0.08). Despite lower platelet counts in the amrinone group, no hemorrhagic complications were seen in any patient.
Conclusions:
With this dosage regimen, amrinone provides a higher cardiac output, more favorable oxygen dynamics, and lower pulmonary vascular resistance than dopamine and nitroglycerin.