Landiolol reduces hemodynamic responses to bronchoscopy-assisted suctioning in intubated ICU patients

Landiolol is an ultra-short-acting β(1)-selective antagonist developed in Japan that was recently approved for the treatment of tachycardia in intensive care units (ICUs). This study investigated the protective effects of landiolol against the cardiovascular responses during bronchoscopic endotracheal suctioning. This study enrolled 15 patients requiring orotracheal intubation in an ICU. All of the patients required endotracheal suctioning using fiber bronchoscopy while sedated at a Ramsay Scale of 2–3. All subsequent suctioning procedures were assigned randomly to three groups using a cross-over design: saline as a placebo (group C) or 20 or 40 μg kg(-1) min(-1) landiolol, respectively (groups L20 and L40). The infusion was started 3 min before bronchoscopy and continued for 6 min. The central venous pressure (CVP) heart rate (HR) and arterial blood pressure (BP) were recorded. Fourteen patients completed the investigation, and 30 procedures (n = 10/group) were analyzed. The suctioning significantly increased the CVP, HR, and BP in groups C and L20, although the changes in BP were of shorter duration in group L20. No significant increase in the hemodynamic parameters was observed in group L40. The administration of landiolol 40 μg kg(-1) min(-1) prevented a harmful hyperdynamic circulatory response to bronchoscopic endotracheal suctioning, without obvious decreases in HR or BP after the intervention.