Patient-, Clinician-, and Institution-level Variation in Inotrope Use for Cardiac Surgery: A Multicenter Observational Analysis.

Variation in inotrope use during cardiac surgery is attributable to the institution and clinician in addition to the patient. Variation across institutions and clinicians suggests a need for future quantitative and qualitative research to understand variation in inotrope use impacting outcomes and develop evidence-based, patient-centered inotrope therapies.