Infusion of low dose dopamine did not reduce renal failure in at risk patients in the intensive care unit
QUESTION: Does low dose dopamine decrease the risk of renal failure in at risk patients in the intensive care unit (ICU)?
Design
Randomised (allocation concealed), blinded (patients, clinicians, outcome assessors, data analysts), controlled trial with follow up to defined study events.
Setting
23 ICUs in Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong.
Patients
328 patients who had central venous catheters, ≥2 pathophysiological changes of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) over a 24 hour period, and ≥1 indicator of early renal dysfunction (mean urine output <0.5 ml/kg/h over ≥4 h, serum creatinine concentration >150 μmol/l with no premorbid renal dysfunction, increase in serum creatinine concentration of >80 μmol/l in <24 h without creatine kinase >5000 IU/l or myoglobin in the urine). Exclusion criteria were age <18 years, episode of acute renal failure in the previous 3 months, previous renal transplantation, use of dopamine during current hospital stay, baseline serum creatinine concentration >300 μmol/l, inability to administer the drug for ≥8 hours, or unsuitability for renal replacement …
