Abstract
The mortality of septic shock patients is still high because of developing multiple organ failure with unstable hemodynamics. We treated septic shock patients with our hemodynamic multimodality strategy to improve outcome. We therefore retrospectively analyzed the outcome of 72 septic shock patients secondary to intra-abdominal infection. Hemodynamic strategy consisted mainly of noradrenaline and a small amount of vasopressin to maintain a mean blood pressure greater than 80 mmHg, and volume loading assessed by the left ventricular preload using cardiac echocardiography. The mean age was 75.8 years (range: 46-97) and the mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score was 25.3 (14-41). The mean 28-day mortality rate and the hospital mortality rate were 8.3% and 16.7% respectively, which was lower than the predicted mortality rate of 61.4% based on APACHE II score. Renal replacement therapy was needed in only 9.7% and no one developed chronic renal failure. In conclusion, the significantly lower mortality rate of septic shock patients treated in our ICU suggests that our hemodynamic multimodality strategy is effective for improving the clinical outcome.
