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Low-dose ("renal-dose") dopamine is given frequently to patients with incipient or early acute renal failure (ARF) because it may transiently increase renal blood flow and urine output. However, whether these changes translate into improved outcomes is unclear. This meta-analysis included 17 randomized trials, published from 1966 through 1999, in which the use of dopamine to prevent ARF or mitigate its severity was examined.
About 600 patients were enrolled in trials in which the endpoints of death, development of ARF, or need for dialysis were reported. Mortality was 4.7 percent in dopamine recipients and 5.6 percent in controls; ARF developed in 15.3 percent of dopamine recipients and 19.5 percent of controls; dialysis was required in 13.9…