Respiratory Stimulation with Intravenous Doxapram in Respiratory Failure

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The ability of a respiratory stimulant (doxapram) to maintain arterial carbon dioxide tension and pH within narrow limits during oxygen administration was assessed in a double-blind study of 78 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease admitted to hospitals for management of acute respiratory failure. The first two hours after admission constituted the study period, with either doxapram or placebo being given intravenously (2 to 3 mg per minute). During the two-hour period, oxygen administration was associated with elevation of carbon dioxide tension or decline in pH (or both) beyond the desired range in 36.8 per cent of the patients receiving placebo, but in only 17.5 per cent of those receiving doxapram. The results suggest that doxapram may prove a useful adjunct in the management of patients in whom oxygen therapy may be expected to exaggerate hypercapnia and acidosis.