Abstract Objective: Microdialysis enables drug delivery in the skin and simultaneous measurement of their effects. The present study aimed to evaluate dose-dependent changes in blood flow and metabolism during microdialysis of norepinephrine and vasopressin. Methods: We investigated whether increasing concentrations of norepinephrine (NE, 1.859 mu mol/L) and vasopressin (VP, 1100 nmol/L), delivered sequentially in one catheter or simultaneously through four catheters, yield dose-dependent changes in blood flow (as measured using urea clearance) and metabolism (glucose and lactate). Results: We found a significant dose-dependent vasoconstriction with both drugs. Responses were characterized by a sigmoid dose response model. Urea in the dialysate increased from a baseline of 7.9 +/- 1.7 to 10.9 +/- 0.9 mmol/L for the highest concentration of NE (p andlt; 0.001) and from 8.1 +/- 1.4 to 10.0 +/- 1.7 mmol/L for the highest concentration of VP (p = 0.037). Glucose decreased from 2.3 +/- 0.7 to 0.41 +/- 0.18 mmol/L for NE (p = 0.001) and from 2.7 +/- 0.6 to 1.3 +/- 0.5 mmol/L for VP (p andlt; 0.001). Lactate increased from 1.1 +/- 0.4 to 2.6 +/- 0.5 mmol/L for NE (p = 0.005) and from 1.1 +/- 0.4 to 2.6 +/- 0.5 mmol/L for VP (p = 0.008). There were no significant differences between responses from a single catheter and from those obtained simultaneously using multiple catheters. Conclusions: Microdialysis in the skin, either with a single catheter or using multiple catheters, offers a useful tool for studying dose response effects of vasoactive drugs on local blood flow and metabolism without inducing any systemic effects.