What are the acute cardiovascular effects of subcutaneous and topical epinephrine for hemostasis during burn surgery?
Although subcutaneous and topical epinephrine are widely used for hemostasis during burn surgery, the acute systemic cardiovascular effects of the epinephrine are neither well documented nor completely understood. The purpose of this work was to prospectively study the acute cardiovascular responses to epinephrine (epi) administered subcutaneously and topically during burn surgery. Consecutive patients who received subcutaneous and topical epi during burn surgery were monitored prior to the administration of epi, at 2-minute intervals during subcutaneous epi infiltration, and then after epi infiltration (during which time, topical epi was applied). This period of monitoring lasted up to 20 minutes and was referred to as an epinephrine event (EE). A total of 100 EEs from 38 operations in 24 patients (mean +/- SD: age 43 +/- 16 years, mean % TBSA burn 23 +/- 17%) were studied. The mean dose of subcutaneous epi was 30 +/- 30 microg/kg. Although all patients received topical epi, it was im
