L-CARNITINE IN CARDIOGENIC-SHOCK THERAPY - PHARMACODYNAMIC ASPECTS AND CLINICAL-DATA

Following our previous work on biochemical and clinical aspects of car diogenic shock, we carried out an open study on 27 patients hospitaliz ed in shock condition and investigated for the entire period of perman ence in intensive care units (ICU). The subjects were treated with hig h doses of L-carnitine following previous results on the use of this m olecule in conditions of oxidative damage due to acute cellular hypoxi a. When compared with the data reported in the literature, the results obtained in this study show a surprisingly positive trend for the car nitine-treated patients in terms of survival rate to the cardiogenic s hock. This finding and statistical analysis of the clinical parameters confirm the suggestion that L-carnitine could be credited with a new and interesting role in the therapy of cardiogenic shock.