Levosimendan as a treatment for acute renal failure associated with cardiogenic shock after hip fracture

Abstract

Inotropic drugs are part of the treatment of heart failure; however, inotropic treatment has been largely debated due to the increased incidence of adverse effects and increased mortality. Recently levosimendan, an inotropic positive agent, has been proved to be effective in acute heart failure, reducing the mortality and improving cardiac and renal performance. We report the case of a 75-year-old woman with history of heart and renal failure and hip fracture. Levosimendan was used in preoperative preparation as an adjuvant therapy, to improve cardiac and renal function and to allow surgery.

Levosimendan Protects against Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity by Regulating the PTEN/Akt Pathway

“…Levosimendan, a calcium sensitizer, is known as a promising positive inotropic and vasodilatory agent used in the treatment of acute heart failure and other circumstances where an improvement in hemodynamics is required [9][10][11][12]. Levosimendan may exert its protective effects through the modulation of reactive oxygen species formation, adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel activity, membrane potential, or the release of endothelial nitric oxide synthase-dependent nitric oxide [13][14][15]. In addition, previous studies have shown that levosimendan protects against oxidative injury in animal models via interference with apoptotic signaling [16].…”