adrenaline
Last reviewed 11/2021
Adrenaline is used:
- in life threatening illness:
- cardiac arrest
- anaphylactic shock
- life threatening acute asthma
- in minor surgery to produce vasoconstriction
Contraindications:
- adrenaline MUST NOT be injected into extremities such as fingers, toes and nose
Except in life threatening illness, it is dangerous if injected intravenously - always check that the needle is not in a vein before injecting.
Adrenaline has alpha, beta-1 and beta-2 activity, and in terms of inotropism tends to work in the patients where the other therapies fail. Its action here is the result of beta-1 receptor down regulation - which means that the percentage of regulation of inotropy by beta-2 receptors is increased.
use of adrenaline in anaphylactic shock