Patients with culture-negative septic shock behave similarly to those with culture-positive septic shock in nearly all respects; early appropriate antimicrobial therapy appears to improve mortality. Early recognition and eradication of infection is the most obvious effective strategy to improve hospital survival.

All double lumen dialysis catheters we tested have a substantial amount of leak even when the catheter 'lock' volumes were used, and leak ratio increases significantly with 20% overfill. There is a leak even when using 20% less 'lock' volume. The amount of leak can be clinically important and may explain the reports of bleeding episodes after heparin lock and antibiotic toxicity after antibiotic and anticoagulant combination lock. Some devices have lower leak ratios than others, likely related to catheter design.

No abstract