Norepinephrine in septic patients—friend or foe?
Norepinephrine (NE) is mostly used to treat severe hypotension. However, NE has potentially adverse vasoconstrictive effects on regional vascular beds of kidney, liver, and gut, with a potential for ensuing organ dysfunction. NE therefore is considered as a last reserve in otherwise refractory hypotension. During sepsis, a loss of catecholamine responsiveness occurs that is often [...]
Tags: blood flow, hypotension, NE, norepinephrine, organ dysfunction, sepsis, vasoconstriction