Dobutamine: A hemodynamic evaluation in pulmonary embolism shock

Intravenous dobutamine was used in ten patients requiring aggressive therapy for massive pulmonary embolism with circulatory failure. Except in one patient who rapidly died, a 30-min dobutamine infusion (8.3 ± 2.7 μg/kg±min) increased both cardiac index (from 1.7 ± 0.4 to 2.3 ± 0.6 L/min ± m, p < .001) and stroke index (from 16.6 ± 6.7 to 21 ± 5 ml/m, p < .01), and also reduced pulmonary vascular resistance. Additional hemodynamic improvement was observed until weaning from dobutamine, which was successfully completed 3.3 ± 0.9 days after the start of infusion.