Biomedical Research

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the clinical curative effects of dopamine and phentolamine on severe pneumonia complicated with heart failure in children.

Methods: Fifty-eight children with severe pneumonia complicated with heart failure were selected as research objects. All of the patients were randomly divided into two groups, namely, control group (n=29) and observation group (n=29). The children in the control group were treated with dopamine, whereas the children in the observation group were administered with phentolamine based on the treatment in the control group. Clinical curative effects, time of improvement in clinical signs and changes in cardiac function before and after the treatment in both groups were observed and compared.

Results: The total effective rate of the clinical treatment in children in the observation group was 96.55% which was significantly higher than that in the control group (68.96%). After the treatment was administered, the Heart Rate (HR), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and left ventricular ejection fraction of the children were 119 ± 6 times/min, 32 ± 3 mm and 73% ± 10% in the observation group and 136 ± 9 times/min, 38 ± 4 mm and 58% ± 10% in the control group, respectively. After the treatment was given, the HR of the children in the observation group decreased significantly, the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter reduced and the left ventricular pumping ability significantly increased. The stable breathing time, disappearance time of pulmonary rales, time of improvement in HR, liver retraction time and hospitalisation time of children were 1.3 ± 0.6, 8.1 ± 1.6, 1.7 ± 0.5, 2.1 ± 1.2 and 10.1 ± 2.3 d in the observation group and 2.5 ± 0.4, 11.6 ± 1.5, 2.7 ± 0.5, 3.6 ± 1.2 and 14.3 ± 2.8 d in the control group, respectively. The time of improvement in each clinical sign in the observation group was significantly shorter than that in the control group.

Conclusion: The clinical curative effect of dopamine combined with phentolamine in the treatment of severe pneumonia complicated with heart failure in children is clear and can significantly improve the cardiac function, enhance the left ventricular pumping ability and reduce the HR and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter of children. Thus, this effect can shorten the time of improvement in clinical signs of children. It can also reduce the hospitalisation time of children. Consequently, the suffering of children and the economic burden against children and their family members can be considerably alleviated. Thus, the effect has a high clinical application value.

Author(s): Huiqing Wang, Fengyan Zhao, Weijia Liu
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