Patients Discharged From the Intensive Care Unit on a Dopamine Infusion-A Retrospective, Observational Study

Objective: To assess the safety of discharging cardiac surgical patients from the intensive care unit (ICU) to wards while the patients are still receiving a dopamine infusion.

Design: Retrospective, observational study.

Setting: Cardiothoracic ICU of a tertiary academic hospital in the United Kingdom.

Participants: The study comprised all cardiac surgical patients older than 18 years and admitted between September 1, 2015 and September 16, 2016 to the ICU and subsequently discharged to a surgical ward. Patients were divided in the following 2 groups: a dopamine group with patients discharged with a dopamine infusion and a control group with patients discharged without any dopamine infusion.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: The hospital mortality rate was comparable in both groups (0.7% in the dopamine group v 0.2% in the control group [p = 0.11]), despite that the median logistic EuroSCORE was significantly higher in the dopamine group (7.0 v 3.8 [p < 0.01]). The ICU readmission rate was higher in the dopamine group (6.6% v 2.4%; p < 0.01). ICU and hospital lengths of stay were longer in the dopamine group (1.7 v 0.9 days [p < 0.01] and 11.4 v 8.0 days [p < 0.01], respectively).

Conclusions: Despite a higher ICU readmission rate, ICU discharge of patients on dopamine infusion was not associated with increased mortality.