Impact of Vasoactive Drugs on Oxygenation and Tissue Perfusion.

摘要

Nurses caring for critically ill patients, either in the emergency room or intensive care setting, respond to a patient's need for oxygen on a daily basis. The goal of oxygen administration is to provide oxygen to the tissues and cells, thereby preventing anaerobic metabolism (Ahrens, 1987). Sometimes oxygen administration alone is not enough to provide the amounts needed for adequate cellular oxygenation and tissue perfusion. Pharmacological agents may be used to increase oxygen delivery to the cells through increased cardiac output. Frequently these drugs will be vasoactive drugs which constrict or dilate the blood vessels. As the drug act, cardiac output is manipulated for optimum patient response.