Epinephrine in pediatric cardiorespiratory arrest: when and how much?

ABSTRACT The objective of the present study was to assess the efficacy of different doses, times for infusion of the first dose, intervals of administration of subsequent doses, and number of epinephrine doses in the survival of children and adolescents who went into cardiorespiratory arrest. It is a review study with data from the PubMedⓇ/MEDLINEⓇdatabase. The search was for articles published from January 1st, 2000 to February 10, 2019, with a sample of patients aged under 18 years, published in English, Portuguese and Spanish. We found 222 articles, of which 16 met the inclusion criteria of the study. The first dose should be given as soon as possible. The standard dose (0.01mg/kg) has a better outcome when compared to the higher dose (0.1mg/kg). There is an iⓇverse relation between the number of epinephrine doses and survival. The interval currently recommended between doses has lower survival when compared to larger intervals. The dosage recommended by the American Heart Association presents a better outcome for survival, but the interval between doses and the maximum number of doses should be better assessed.