Revista española de anestesiología y reanimación
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Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim · Aug 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial[Hemodynamic effects of levosimendan following cardiac surgery].
The hemodynamic effect of levosimendan was compared to that of dobutamine in a trial enrolling 30 adults undergoing scheduled cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Fifteen patients were randomly assigned to receive levosimendan in a single dose of 18 microg x kg(-1) followed in 15 to 20 minutes by start of infusion at a rate of 0.2 microg x kg(-1) min(-1) for 24 hours (levosimendan group). Another 15 randomized patients received dobutamine infused at a rate of 7.5 microg x kg(-1) min(-1). ⋯ We found that mean arterial pressure and both systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance decreased significantly in the levosimendan group (P < 0.05), but not in the dobutamine group. On the other hand, both heart rate and cardiac index increased in the levosimendan group only (P < 0.05). We conclude that levosimendan improves hemodynamic stability in patients who have undergone cardiac surgery and that it is a good alternative for treating postoperative low cardiac output syndrome.