Dobutamine administration in septic shock: Addition to a standard protocol

Dobutamine administration has been shown to increase oxygen delivery in various conditions, but there are little,data to document its effects in septic shock. We investigated the effects of dobutamine infusion at a rate of 5 μg/kg· min in 18 patients (mean 60 ± 16 yr) with septic shock initially characterized by hypotension, oliguria, and hyperlactatemia in the presence of a documented source of sepsis. Early resuscitation had consisted of fluid administration and vasopressors when required. When added to this standard regimen, dobutamine had no significant effect on mean arterial pressure (MAP) (from 71 ± 12 to 73 ± 13 mm Hg), but markedly increased cardiac index (from 3.0 ± 0.7 to 3.9 ± 1.0 L/min· m, p