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Anesth Analg 2004;98:822-824
© 2004 International Anesthesia Research Society
doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000099717.40471.83

OBSTETRIC ANESTHESIA

Successful Use of Levosimendan in a Patient with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Sidney Benlolo, MD, Cécile Lefoll, MD, Vahan Katchatouryan, MD, Didier Payen, MD PhD, and Alexandre Mebazaa, MD PhD

From the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Hôpital Lariboisière, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Institut Fédératif de Recherche 06, Paris, France

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Alexandre Mebazaa, MD, PhD, Département d’Anesthésie-Réanimation-SMUR, Hôpital Lariboisière, 2 rue Ambroise-Paré, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France. Address email to alexandre.mebazaa{at}lrb.ap-hop-paris.fr

This case represents the first reported use of levosimendan, a calcium-sensitizing drug with additional vasodilation properties, for treatment of a woman with peripartum cardiomyopathy. Levosimendan induced a steady decline of increased pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, followed by a definitive increase in cardiac stroke volume. The patient recovered from this serious episode of heart failure, and she ultimately regained left ventricular function.

IMPLICATIONS: Acute heart failure is a life-threatening event that only rarely occurs during childbirth. We report a case of a woman who experienced cardiovascular collapse during vaginal delivery. We determined that she met current diagnostic criteria for peripartum cardiomyopathy, and we successfully treated her with levosimendan, a calcium-sensitizing drug with additional vasodilation properties.




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L. De Luca, W. S. Colucci, M. S. Nieminen, B. M. Massie, and M. Gheorghiade
Evidence-based use of levosimendan in different clinical settings
Eur. Heart J., August 2, 2006; 27(16): 1908 - 1920.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999 HighWire Press
Copyright © 2004 by the International Anesthesia Research Society.