Angiotensin II for the Emergency Physician Marianne C Wallis ,1 Jonathan H Chow,2 Michael E Winters,3 Michael T Mccurdy 4
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Practice review Emerg Med J: first published as 10.1136/emermed-2019-209062 on 19 February 2020. Downloaded from Angiotensin II for the emergency physician Marianne C Wallis ,1 Jonathan H Chow,2 Michael E Winters,3 Michael T McCurdy 4 1Division of Pulmonary and ABSTRact vasopressin and dopamine. Based on clinical guide- Critical Care, University of Refractory hypotension is one of the most common lines, norepinephrine is the first-line treatment for Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA and difficult clinical problems faced by acute care distributive shock and is one of the most commonly 2Department of Anesthesia, clinicians, and it poses a particularly large problem to the used vasopressors for this indication. Its mechanism University of Maryland School of emergency physician when a patient in undifferentiated of action is by agonism of α1 receptors, which results Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, shock arrives in the department. Angiotensin II (Ang- in smooth muscle contraction.1 Vasopressin is also USA 2) has been previously used as a vasopressor to 3Department of Emergency commonly used, particularly in profoundly hypoten- Medicine, University of combat shock; the feasibility of its clinical use has sive patients who require an adjunct to norepineph- Maryland School of Medicine, been reinvigorated after approval of a human synthetic rine. As the second- line vasopressor for the treatment Baltimore, Maryland, USA formulation of the medication by the US Food and Drug 4 of septic shock, it acts on vasopressin type 1 and Division of Pulmonary and Administration in 2017 and the European Medicines vasopressin type 2 receptors, leading to increased Critical Care, Department of Emergency Medicine, University Agency in 2019. A thorough literature search was water reabsorption in the kidneys and smooth of Maryland School of Medicine, completed, and in this review, we discuss the discovery muscle contraction in the vasculature.3 Epinephrine Baltimore, Maryland, USA and development of Ang-2, its complex mechanisms also targets the catecholamine axis and is a potent α1 of vasoconstriction, its potential adverse effects and agonist. Unlike norepinephrine, epinephrine also has Correspondence to its potential role in clinical practice for emergency agonistic effects on β receptors that increase chro- Dr Marianne C Wallis, University physicians. 1 of Maryland School of Medicine, notropy, inotropy and lusitropy in a dose- dependent 1 Baltimore, MD 21201, USA; manner. Dopamine, which has extremely limited use Mariannewallis@ gmail. com in septic shock, also exhibits dose-dependent action on the catecholamine axis, where it acts on Dopa- Protected by copyright. Received 27 August 2019 INTRODUCTION mine type 1 receptors at low doses, on receptors at Revised 23 January 2020 Humans have evolved multiple systems to autoreg- β1 intermediate doses, and on and Dopamine type 2 Accepted 25 January 2020 ulate blood pressure under conditions of stress, and α1 Published Online First the regulation of blood pressure relies on several receptors at high doses. The Surviving Sepsis Guide- 19 February 2020 complex pathways.1 Two of these axes have been lines recommend that it be used as a tertiary agent used regularly by clinicians for the past quarter only in highly selected patients with bradycardia and 3 century to treat the patient in shock: the cate- at low risk of developing tachydysrhythmias. Many cholamine axis (eg, norepinephrine and epineph- of these vasopressors share a quick onset of action, on the order of seconds to minutes, and short dura- rine) and the arginine–vasopressin system axis (eg, http://emj.bmj.com/ vasopressin). A third axis, the renin–angiotensin– tion of action (table 1). aldosterone system (RAAS), is intimately involved While there are physiological rationales for using in blood pressure regulation, and one of its main one vasopressor over another in various types of components is angiotensin II (Ang-2). The hormone shock, there is no evidence to show that one partic- was first identified and clinically administered in ular vasopressor is associated with better outcomes humans over 50 years ago, and a bovine formu- than another.4 While norepinephrine alone often lation of Ang-2 was used in the management of adequately corrects hypotension, all conventional on October 26, 2020 at SUNY Stony Brook NERL Consortia. hypotension for over 35 years.2 A human synthetic vasopressors at high doses and with prolonged version of Ang-2 was approved by the US Food and use have a variety of clinically significant adverse Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017 and by the effects (see table 2).1 Many clinicians commonly European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2019 for start vasopressin as a second- line agent following the indication of distributive shock. It has not been norepinephrine, but there is no consensus on the widely used in the emergency department (ED), norepinephrine dose at which it should be initiated. but in an environment where the ED has become In the Vasopressin versus Norepinephrine Infusion so tightly integrated with other services, such as in Patients with Septic Shock trial, vasopressin did the operating room and intensive care unit (ICU), not significantly improve mortality when compared use of Ang-2 in the ED is foreseeable in the immi- with norepinephrine (28- day mortality, 35.4% nent future. Furthermore, especially in departments vasopressin vs 30.3% norepinephrine; p=0.26).4 where critically ill patients must wait for a signifi- Additionally, in 2016, the Effect of Early Vaso- © Author(s) (or their cant amount of time before being transferred to an pressin versus Norepinephrine on Kidney Failure employer(s)) 2020. No ICU, an understanding of Ang-2’s mechanism of commercial re-use . See rights in Patients with Septic Shock trial failed to demon- and permissions. Published action, pharmacokinetics and adverse effects will be strate a difference in benefit between vasopressin by BMJ. invaluable for the emergency medicine physician. and norepinephrine in preventing acute kidney 5 To cite: Wallis MC, injury (AKI) in patients with septic shock. Vaso- Chow JH, Winters ME, CURRENT CONVENTIONAL THERAPIES pressin use, unfortunately, does not eliminate, and et al. Emerg Med J Several vasopressors are available for use in the may even potentiate, some of the negative isch- 2020;37:717–721. ED: phenylephrine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, aemic effects of high-dose catecholamines.6 Wallis MC, et al. Emerg Med J 2020;37:717–721. doi:10.1136/emermed-2019-209062 717 Practice review Emerg Med J: first published as 10.1136/emermed-2019-209062 on 19 February 2020. Downloaded from of low renal perfusion, renin is secreted by the juxtaglomerular Table 1 Primary physiological systems involved in blood pressure apparatus of the kidney and cleaves angiotensinogen to Ang-1.9 autoregulation Endothelium- bound ACE, which is concentrated in the pulmo- Duration nary capillary network, converts Ang-1 to its most active form, System Receptor Onset of action Half- life Ang-2. The pleiotropic effects of Ang-2 result from its multiple Sympathetic sites of action (figure 1). Among a number of activities, Ang-2 Norepinephrine α and β adrenergic 1–2 min 1–2 min 2.5 min binds to angiotensin type 1 (AT1) receptors, causing release Epinephrine α and β adrenergic 1–2 min 1–2 min <5 min of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and activation of Dopamine α and β adrenergic, D1 and D2 5 min 10 min 2 min myosin light chain kinase, leading to smooth muscle contrac- Phenylephrine α adrenergic 30 s 10–15 min 2–3 hours 1 tion. In addition, agonism of AT1 receptors stimulates the release Arginine–vasopressin of the adrenocorticotropic hormone from the anterior pituitary Vasopressin V1 and V2 15 min 20 min <10 min gland; activates the sympathetic system, leading to the release Renin–angiotensin–aldosterone of catecholamines; and promotes salt and water reabsorption in 10 Angiotensin II AT1 and AT2 2–3 min 15 min 30 s the kidneys through multiple mechanisms. The renal effects of Ang-2 include direct activation of sodium and chloride reab- AT1, angiotensin type 1 receptor; AT2, angiotensin type 2 receptor; BP, blood pressure; D1, Dopamine type 1; D1, dopamine type 1; D2, dopamine 2; V1, vasopressin type 1; V2, sorption in the proximal tubules, aldosterone release from the vasopressin type 2. adrenal cortex to enhance sodium reabsorption in the convo- luted tubules and secretion of vasopressin from the posterior pituitary gland to increase free water retention in the collecting Similar to guideline-recommend ed approaches for treating 10 hypertension, a multimodal approach to treating hypotension ducts. All of these mechanisms work in concert to increase may render the ability to use lower doses of any given vaso- the mean arterial pressure (MAP) and the effective circulating pressor, which allows the clinician to maximise the efficacy of volume during hypovolaemia and relative vasodilatation. each medication while minimising the unwanted toxic effects of Through a separate mechanism, Ang-2 also plays an important each. role in the bradykinin pathway and regulates inflammatory states, particularly in the pulmonary system. Dysfunction in ACE results in excess Ang-1 accumulation, which then follows PHYSIOLOGY OF ANG-2 IN SHOCK a pathway that generates bradykinin.9 Hypotension, therefore, In an attempt to use a multimodal approach for the treatment results not only from diminished Ang-2- mediated vasoconstric- Protected by copyright. of shock, clinicians have