In addition, the babies received supportive care and suitable antibiotics. Birth weight and gestational age ranged between 1400 to 3500 g and 31 to 39 weeks, respectively. Response to adrenaline was prompt in all of them, i.e. , there was clinical improve-ment and return of MAP to previous reading. One of them developed tachycardia necessitat-ing discontinuation of adrenaline after 3 hours. The age of administration ranged from 2 hours to 8 hours of life and duration of administration was for three to six days.
Shock is the commonest cause of death among newborn babies with sepsis.
Impaired tissue perfusion leads to tissue hypoxemia and lactic acidosis which in turn affect functioning of different organs including heart. Therefore, it is desirable to use and inotrope which raises blood pressure as well as cardiac output in cases of neonatal sepsis. Response to treatment was observed in all the cases. One child died 4 days after adrenaline administration. Adrenaline besides being an appropriate inotrope in cases of septic shock, is inexpensive and has wide dosage range.