Clinical and experimental evidence supporting a new emphasis in the pharmacological treatment for shock is growing rapidly.
This was the evaluation of many participants in the sessions on shock at the recent American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics sessions in Philadelphia.
"The past dependence on blood pressure measurements as an index of shock is being reexamined in the light of maintaining adequate blood flow, especially to visceral organs," said Thomas D. Darby, PhD, Abbott Laboratories investigator and chairman of the principal session dealing with shock.
A principal paper supporting this concept was delivered by a team from the Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis.
The total peripheral blood flow must be maintained if cardiogenic shock is to be adequately treated, the group reported.
The conclusion is based on clinical observations as well as a series of animal experiments, according to Richard C. Lillehei, MD, professor of