COMPARISON OF THE HAEMODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF ENOXIMONE AND PIROXIMONE IN PATIENTS AFTER CARDIAC SURGERY

We have compared the haemodynamic effects of the imidazole derivativephosphodiesterase inhibitors enoximone and piroximone in patientswith low cardiac output after cardiac surgery. Ten patients(group E) received enoximone and 10 patients (group P) receivedpiroximone, both at a loading dose of 0.5 mg kg^–1 followedby an infusion of 5 µg kg^–1 min^–1. In bothgroups the main changes with time were increases in cardiacindex (maximum 24.5% in group E, 25.8% in group P) and decreasesin systemic vascular resistance (maxi mum 26.8% in group E and24.8% in group P). There were moderate increases in heart rate(maximum 11.3% in group E and 13% in group P) but a greaterpercentage decrease in mean arterial pressure in group E (maximum11.9% vs 7.9%) with time. One patient in group E developed hypertensionduring the loading dose. Two patients in group E and two ingroup P developed hypotension during the loading dose. One patientin group E developed ventricular extras ystoles which may havebeen related to the drug being studied. (Br. J. Anaesth. 1993;71: 869–872)