Diuretic Efficacy of Dexamethasone in Heart Failure

Diuretic Efficacy of Dexamethasone in Congestive Heart Failure Patients

The purpose of this study is to determine whether glucocorticoids have potent diuretic effects in patients with congestive heart failure.

Glucocorticoids are known to have pronounced physiological effects in the kidney. Conventional teaching dictates that it should be used with caution in patients with congestive heart failure due to its fluid and sodium retention effects. Surprisingly, despite the widespread prevalence of this belief within the medical community, there are few data to support it. In fact, several small animal studies have documented its striking diuretic effects due to increased renal plasma flow and glomerular filtration rate without changes in the glomerular filtration fraction. We design this study to determine whether glucocorticoids have a potent diuretic effect in patients with heart failure.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Congestive heart failure patients due to any cause
• Patients with normal cortical function
• Congestive heart failure patients who are on diuretic therapy
• Clinically stable and body weight maintained the same for at least 3 days without signs of fluid retention

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient refusal
• Signs of infection