Dopamine treatment in neonatal medicine with a focus on non-responder

Background: Haemodynamic adaptation in the first few days of life is a complex physiological process that often is disturbed in premature or sick infants. Systemic hypotension occurs in 20–50% of all infants admitted for neonatal intensive care and can have serious consequences including IVH, PVL and NEC. First line therapy involves expansion of the circulatory blood volume. If that is not sufficient, the neonate usually will be treated with inotropes. Dopamine is the most frequently used sympathomimetic amine for the treatment of hypotension in neonates. The common dosage for dopamine ranges from 3–20mg/kg/min.…