Agents | mPAP | PVR | RV contractility |
Anaesthetic agents | |||
Isoflurane | ↓ | ↔ | ↓↓ |
Desflurane | ↓ | ↔ | ↓↓ |
Sevoflurane | ↓ | ↔ | ↓↓ |
Nitrous oxide | ↑↑ | ↑↑ | ↓ |
Thiopental sodium | ↔ | ↔ | ↓ |
Etomidate | ↔ | ↔ | ↔ |
Ketamine | ↑ | ↔/↑ | ↓ |
Propofol | ↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ |
Fentanyl/sufentanil | ↔ | ↔ | ↔ |
Remifentanil | ↔ | ↔ | ↔ |
Vasopressors | |||
Norepinephrine | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ |
Epinephrine | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ |
Phenylephrine | ↑ | ↑ | ↓↓ |
Vasopressin | ↓ | ↓ | ↔ |
Inotropes | |||
Dobutamine | ↔ | ↑, ↔, ↓# | ↑↑ |
Milrinone | ↔ | ↓ | ↑↑ |
Levosimendan | ↓ | ↓ | ↑ |
↑ Increase; ↑↑ marked increase; ↓ reduction; ↓↓ marked reduction; ↔ no effect. mPAP: mean pulmonary arterial pressure; PVR: pulmonary vascular resistance; RV: right ventricle. #: Conflicting data about the effect of dobutamine in PVR. Dobutamine decreases PVR at low dose (<5 µg·kg−1·min−1), no effect at median dose of 10 µg·kg−1·min−1 and increases PVR at higher dose, more than 15 µg·kg−1·min−1 [47, 102–104].