No benefit to levalbuterol in ICU patients

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By  |  January 31, 2012 | 

There is growing evidence that levalbuterol is not associated with any cardiac benefit. In this small study of ICU patients, they were randomized to albuterol or levalbuterol every 4-6 hours; mean increases in heart rates were only ~1 beat per minute after either drug, and rates of arrhythmias were very small (only 1 patient with non-sustained Vtach of 5 beats). The use of levalbuterol in ICU patients to avoid tachycardia or arrhythmias is not warranted (abstract)

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About the Author: Danielle Scheurer

Danielle Scheurer, MD, MSCR, SFHM is a clinical hospitalist and the Chief Quality Officer at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, where she also serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, completed her residency at Duke University, and completed her Masters in Clinical Research at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is also the President of SHM's Board of Directors and previously served as Physician Editor of The Hospitalist, SHM's monthly newsmagazine.

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