No abstract

Septic cardiomyopathy is an important contributor to organ dysfunction in sepsis. Guided treatment of septic cardiomyopathy may affect patients' prognosis, especially when their cardiac index is substantially decreased. The implication of septic cardiomyopathy for both short- and long-term outcomes is an important area for future investigation.

No abstract

Shock is an often lethal syndrome of diminished or insuffi cient perfusion that impairs organ function. Generally associated with decreased arterial blood pressure, shock results most commonly from sepsis, hemorrhage, or primary cardiac failure. 1 Vasopressor medications, largely vasoactive catecholamine hormones, have been used for many decades in the treatment of hypotensive shock. These medications have not been subjected to rigorous, placebo-controlled studies, and consensus from clinical experience suggests that there is not equipoise for such a study in most cases of shock. 2 When vascular tone is profoundly diminished (eg, vasoplegic syndrome or distributive shock), patients may require high-dose vasopressor therapy (HDV).Background: Some patients with hypotensive shock do not respond to usual doses of vasopressor therapy. Very little is known about outcomes after high-dose vasopressor therapy (HDV). We sought to characterize survival among patients with shock requiring HDV. We also evaluated the possible utility of stress-dose corticosteroid therapy in these patients.