Health Centres - Dopamine Hydrochloride in Dextrose Injection
How does it work?
Dopamine hydrochloride is a catecholamine that works at a number of different receptor sites in the body depending on the dose at which it is administered. At lower doses it binds to dopamine receptors in the kidney, gut, brain and heart causing the blood vessels in these organs to widen. This improves the blood flow and therefore improves the amount of oxygen supplied to the organs. It also causes an increase in urine output from the kidneys.
What is it used for?
- Reduced blood flow to vital internal organs (shock)
Warning!
- People taking this medicine should have regular blood tests to monitor their kidney and liver function.
- This medicine contains the preservative sodium metabisulphite, which may cause allergic type reactions of varying severity in individuals who are sensitive to sulphites.
Use with caution in
- Abnormally high amount of carbon dioxide in the blood (hypercarbia)
- Children
-
Diabetes mellitus
- High acid levels in the blood and tissues (acidosis)
- Low blood potassium levels (hypokalaemia)
- Low levels of oxygen in the tissues (hypoxia)
- Low volume of circulating blood (hypovolaemia)
-
Narrowing of blood vessels in the extremities
Not to be used in
- Irregular heart beats (arrhythmias)
- Tumour of the adrenal gland (phaeochromocytoma)
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.
- This medicine should be used with caution during pregnancy, and only if the expected benefit to the mother is greater than any possible risk to the foetus. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
- There is no information available regarding the safety of this medicine during breastfeeding. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
Side effects
Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.
- Headache
- Chest pain (angina)
- Low blood pressure (hypotension)
- Awareness of your heartbeat (palpitations)
- Nausea and vomiting
- Difficulty in breathing (dyspnoea)
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Dilated pupils
- Increased heart rate (tachycardia)
- Irregular heart beats
- Inadequate blood flow leading to low levels of oxygen in the tissues of the extremities (peripheral ischaemia), which may lead to gangrene
The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.
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