Treatment of Shock with Sympathicomimetic Drugs

Abstract

Although several vasopressor drugs are available for the treatment of shock, many are characterized by one or more undesirable properties. During the last several years in this hospital most of these agents have been used in patients with shock of various etiologies. These observations indicated that metaraminol was an effective drug for the treatment of shock, and that side-effects were infrequent. Therefore, further laboratory studies were done, and an additional group of 67 patients with shock resulting from various causes were studied. Methods In the experimental procedures the following drugs were studied: mephentermine (Wyamine), metaraminol (Aramine), phenylephrine (Neosynephrine), levarterenol (norepinephrine, B.P.; Levophed), epinephrine, and methoxamine (Vasoxyl). Epinephrine was included in these studies only for comparative purposes, since its use in the clinical treatment of hypotensive shock is contraindicated. In the renal studies standard techmiques were used to measure glomerular filtration rate and renal plasma flow.¹Cerebral blood flow was