THE USUAL DOSE :- 2.5 TO 10 MCG/KG/BODY WT PER MINUTE, ACCORDING TO THE PATIENTS HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, CARDIAC OUTPUT, AND URINE OUTPUT. A RANGE OF 0.5 UP TO 40 MICROGRAMS/KG PER MINUTE HAS OCCASIONALLY BEEN REQUIRED. IT HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED THAT TREATMENT WITH DOBUTAMINE SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED GRADUALLY.
DOBUTAMINE IS ALSO USED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO EXERCISE IN CARDIAC STRESS TESTING. A SOLUTION CONTAINING 1 MG/ML IS GIVEN VIA AN INFUSION PUMP IN A DOSE OF 5 MICROGRAMS/KG PER MINUTE FOR 8 MINUTES. THE DOSE IS THEN INCREASED BY INCREMENTS OF 5 MICROGRAMS/KG PER MINUTE UP TO A USUAL MAXIMUM OF 20 MICROGRAMS/KG PER MINUTE, WITH EACH DOSE BEING INFUSED FOR 8 MINUTES BEFORE THE NEXT INCREASE; DOSES OF UP TO 40 MICROGRAMS/KG PER MINUTE HAVE SOMETIMES BEEN USED. THE ECG SHOULD BE MONITORED CONTINUOUSLY AND THE INFUSION STOPPED IF ARRHYTHMIAS, MARKED ST SEGMENT DEPRESSION, OR OTHER ADVERSE EFFECTS OCCUR.