State of the art on continuous intravenous administration of norepinephrine in intensive care

Abstract

Catecholamines are the first-line treatment in the management of patients in shock. These drugs, and norepinephrine in particular, have a very short half-life and an extremely narrow therapeutic range. Their administration requires precautions to ensure optimal treatment efficacy and safety of use. The choice of biomedical equipment, medical devices, and administration strategies can have a major influence on the steadiness of drug mass flow. These variations can have clinical consequences ranging from small changes in blood pressure to more serious adverse events. Although the literature that has addressed these issues is sparse and of uneven quality, it nonetheless reports interesting data to guide critical care nursing practice. The aim of this article is to propose a state of the art on the management of catecholamines with a particular focus on the management of norepinephrine changeovers.