Sepsis

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of presepsin in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock during the first week of ICU treatment. METHODS: In total, 116 patients with suspected severe sepsis or septic shock were included during the first 24 hours of ICU treatment. Blood samples for biomarker measurements of presepsin, procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin 6 (IL-6), C reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cells (WBC) were drawn at days 1, 3 and 8...

Intravenous fluids (IVFs) represent a basic therapeutic intervention utilized in septic shock. Unfortunately, the optimal method for administering IVFs to maximize patient outcomes is unknown. A meta-analysis of four randomized trials of goal-directed therapy did not demonstrate a significant reduction in mortality (odds ratio 0.609; 95% confidence interval 0.363 to 1.020; P = 0.059), whereas 18 trials with historical controls showed a significant increase in survival (odds ratio 0.580; 95% confidence interval 0...

OBJECTIVE: Fluids and vasoactive agents are both used to treat septic shock, but little is known about how they interact or the optimal way to administer them. We sought to determine how hospital mortality was influenced by combined use of these two treatments. DESIGN: Retrospective evaluation using multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the association between hospital mortality and categorical variables representing initiation of vasoactive agents and volumes of IV fluids given 0-1, 1-6, and 6-24 hours after onset, including interactions and adjusting for potential confounders...

BACKGROUND: Fluid resuscitation is the cornerstone of sepsis treatment. However, whether balanced or unbalanced crystalloids or natural or synthetic colloids confer a survival advantage is unclear. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of different resuscitative fluids on mortality in patients with sepsis. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, ACP Journal Club, CINAHL, HealthSTAR, the Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials through March 2014...

New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 371, Issue 3, Page 282-284, July 2014.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We discuss the goals of resuscitation, in both the early and the later phases, measures of organ perfusion, fluid responsiveness and the consequences of tissue edema. RECENT FINDINGS: The cost of over-aggressive fluid resuscitation is increased organ failure and mortality. In anticipation of the upcoming trials on early goal-directed therapy, we explore strategies to maximize effectiveness of resuscitation. Furthermore, we review recent data on the choice of fluid therapy...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: The frequency, risk factors, and mortality rates of serious adverse events associated with the use of vasopressin and norepinephrine are not clear. The objectives of this study were to determine frequency, risk factors (including candidate gene polymorphisms), and outcomes of serious adverse events in septic shock patients. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using multicenter discovery and single-center validation cohorts. SETTING: ICUs at academic teaching centers...

BACKGROUND: In a single-center study published more than a decade ago involving patients presenting to the emergency department with severe sepsis and septic shock, mortality was markedly lower among those who were treated according to a 6-hour protocol of early goal-directed therapy (EGDT), in which intravenous fluids, vasopressors, inotropes, and blood transfusions were adjusted to reach central hemodynamic targets, than among those receiving usual care. We conducted a trial to determine whether these findings were generalizable and whether all aspects of the protocol were necessary...

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have suggested the potential advantages of albumin administration in patients with severe sepsis, its efficacy has not been fully established. METHODS: In this multicenter, open-label trial, we randomly assigned 1818 patients with severe sepsis, in 100 intensive care units (ICUs), to receive either 20% albumin and crystalloid solution or crystalloid solution alone. In the albumin group, the target serum albumin concentration was 30 g per liter or more until discharge from the ICU or 28 days after randomization...

BACKGROUND: The Surviving Sepsis Campaign recommends targeting a mean arterial pressure of at least 65 mm Hg during initial resuscitation of patients with septic shock. However, whether this blood-pressure target is more or less effective than a higher target is unknown. METHODS: In a multicenter, open-label trial, we randomly assigned 776 patients with septic shock to undergo resuscitation with a mean arterial pressure target of either 80 to 85 mm Hg (high-target group) or 65 to 70 mm Hg (low-target group)...

IMPORTANCE: Evidence supporting the choice of intravenous colloid vs crystalloid solutions for management of hypovolemic shock remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To test whether use of colloids compared with crystalloids for fluid resuscitation alters mortality in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with hypovolemic shock. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A multicenter, randomized clinical trial stratified by case mix (sepsis, trauma, or hypovolemic shock without sepsis or trauma)...

New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 369, Issue 9, Page 840-851, August 2013.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an update to the "Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines for Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock," last published in 2008. DESIGN: A consensus committee of 68 international experts representing 30 international organizations was convened. Nominal groups were assembled at key international meetings (for those committee members attending the conference). A formal conflict of interest policy was developed at the onset of the process and enforced throughout...

Severe sepsis and septic shock are the most common reasons for admission to an intensive care unit; and the risk of death is substantial, estimated at approximately 40%. Evidence suggests that early resuscitation strategies that include the use of resuscitation fluids, antibiotics, blood, and inotropes reduce death. Although fluid resuscitation is an immediate life-saving intervention, a fundamental question that remains unanswered is whether the type of resuscitation fluid impacts survival when it is initiated very early in the course of septic shock...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Bicarbonate therapy for severe lactic acidosis remains a controversial therapy. RECENT FINDINGS: The most recent 2008 Surviving Sepsis guidelines strongly recommend against the use of bicarbonate in patients with pH at least 7.15, while deferring judgment in more severe acidemia. We review the mechanisms causing lactic acidosis in the critically ill and the scientific rationale behind treatment with bicarbonate. SUMMARY: There is little rationale or evidence for the use of bicarbonate therapy for lactic acidosis due to shock...

BACKGROUND: Hydrocortisone is widely used in patients with septic shock even though a survival benefit has been reported only in patients who remained hypotensive after fluid and vasopressor resuscitation and whose plasma cortisol levels did not rise appropriately after the administration of corticotropin. METHODS: In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned 251 patients to receive 50 mg of intravenous hydrocortisone and 248 patients to receive placebo every 6 hours for 5 days; the dose was then tapered during a 6-day period...