Shock occurring during cardiac surgery; its treatment with levarterenol bitartrate.

Abstract

Since levarterenol (Levophed*) was first introduced into the practice of medicine, about 1950, many investigators have reported favorably on its unique faculty of elevating an apparently absent blood pressure to a readable and satisfactory level.† Many of these are laboratory or individual case reports. Some are series of assorted cases in which the drug was used to great advantage, and a few deal with its efficacy in myocardial infarction.‡ Four reports § mention the use of levarterenol in cardiac surgery and all are favorable. However, there has not been published a series of cardiac and great vessel surgical cases in which the drug was used, particularly in which the resultant blood pressure changes were recorded. Our experience in 224 consecutive cardiac surgical cases with the same surgical team in the same hospital ∥ from 1951 to 1954 form the basis of this report. In 96 of these cases levarterenol was