Epinephrine
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All About Epinephrine (Adrenaline)
Understanding Epinephrine
A Versatile Chemical for Critical Situations
- Alias Adrenaline: Epinephrine is commonly known as adrenaline.
- Physiological Effects: It narrows blood vessels, opens airways in the lungs, and can reverse severely low blood pressure.
- Source and Function: Mainly secreted by the adrenal glands in the medulla, it primarily increases cardiac output and raises blood glucose levels.
- Stress Response: Normally released during acute stress, preparing an individual for "fight or flight," making it a primary medication for nonprofusing cardiac arrests.
- Sympathomimetic Properties: Epinephrine is a sympathomimetic agent that stimulates alpha and beta-adrenergic receptors.
Medical Uses of Epinephrine
When and How Epinephrine Is Administered
- Enhanced Blood Flow: Improves myocardial and cerebral blood flow during CPR, increasing peripheral resistance and profusion pressures.
- Allergic Manifestations: Used to reverse acute anaphylaxis's allergic manifestations.
- Bronchospasm Relief: Administered to relieve acute and severe asthma-related bronchospasms despite nebulization therapy.
Epinephrine Dosage and Administration
Forms, Dosage, and Contraindications
- Available Forms: Epinephrine is available in prefilled syringes or ampules with various concentrations (1:1000 or 1:10,000).
- Contraindications: Avoid repeated doses in hypothermic patients; caution in non-cardioselective beta-blocker users like Propranolol.
- CPR Administration: Given with shockable rhythms after the third shock and alternately (third, fifth, seventh shocks); with non-shockable rhythms, administered after achieving IV access and following alternative cycles.
- Age and Concentration Variations: Dosage depends on the patient's age and the concentration used; administered intravenously or intraosseously.
- Anaphylaxis and Asthma: Administered in the anterior lateral aspect of the thigh for anaphylaxis and life-threatening asthma.
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