• Gilles Lebuffe, Bruno Levy, Rémy Nevière, Jean-L Chagnon, Pierre-F Perrigault, Jacques Duranteau, Alain Edouard, Jean-L Teboul, and Benoit Vallet.
• Département d'anesthésie-réanimation 2, Hôpital Claude Huriez CHU de Lille, Rue Polonovski, 59037, Lille Cedex, France.
• Intensive Care Med. 2002 Mar 1;28(3):265-71.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the effect of an early dobutamine infusion on gastrointestinal perfusion in patients with severe sepsis.DesignProspective, randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical study.SettingSix medical and/or surgical intensive care units (ICU) of teaching hospitals.PatientsForty-two patients with severe sepsis.InterventionsPatients were divided into two groups according to gastric-to-arterial CO2 gap (DeltaCO2) [normal DeltaCO2 group ( n=17): DeltaCO2 < or = 8 mmHg; increased DeltaCO2 group ( n=25): DeltaCO2 > 8 mmHg]. Patients within each group were then randomized to receive either dobutamine (5 microg/kg per min) or saline for 72 h.Measurements And Main ResultsSAPS II was similar in both groups [group 1: 44.0 (33.0-56.5); group 2: 48.5 (40.5-59.0), p=0.27]. At ICU admission, mean arterial pressure was lower in the high DeltaCO2 group [73.0 (67.0-79.5) mmHg, p=0.03] than in the normal DeltaCO2 group [84.0 (73.7-104.0) mmHg] while blood lactate [normal DeltaCO2 group: 1.6 (0.8-2.3); high DeltaCO2 group: 1.6 (1.1-1.9) mmol/l] was similar for the two groups. DeltaCO2 was significantly lower in the normal DeltaCO2 group [5.0 (2.0-6.0) mmHg)] than in the high DeltaCO2 group [11.0 (10.0-19.0) mmHg]. Dobutamine infusion did not significantly change hemodynamics, blood lactate concentration or tonometric parameters in any group within the first 72 h and had no particular beneficial effect in this population.ConclusionsAn early infusion of dobutamine at a fixed dose of 5 microg/kg per min during the first 72 h of severe sepsis does not influence gastric DeltaCO2.

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