• Anke P C Top, Can Ince, Neelke de Meij, Monique van Dijk, and Dick Tibboel.
• Intensive Care, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
• Crit. Care Med. 2011 Jan 1;39(1):8-13.

ObjectiveTo investigate the time course and predictive value of microvascular alterations in children with severe sepsis.DesignSingle-center, prospective observational study.SettingIntensive care unit of a level III university children's hospital.PatientsPatients with septic shock, requiring the administration of fluid and vasopressor agents and/or inotropes after the correction of hypovolemia, who were intubated and ventilated, were included.InterventionsNone.Measurements And Main ResultsThe microcirculation was assessed in the buccal mucosa, using orthogonal polarization spectral imaging, within 24 hrs after admission. Subsequent measurements were performed every 24 hrs for 3 days. The measurements were discontinued when the patient was extubated. There were no significant differences in the functional capillary density or microvascular flow index for all vessel types between survivors and nonsurvivors on day 1. In the survival group, the functional capillary density increased significantly between day 1 and day 2 from 1.7 cm/cm (0.8-3.4) to 4.3 cm/cm (2.1-6.9) (p = .001). Functional capillary density values in nonsurvivors did not change (day 1: 3.2 cm/cm [0.8-3.8]; day 2: 1.9 cm/cm [1.0-2.1]). The median functional capillary density on days 2 and 3 were significantly lower in nonsurvivors (day 2: 1.9 cm/cm [1.0 -2.1] vs. 4.3 cm/cm [2.1-6.9], p = .009; day 3: 1.8 cm/cm [1.0-2.0] vs. 4.7 cm/cm [2.1-8.6], p = .01). The microvascular flow index for all vessel types improved in survivors and did not change in nonsurvivors. Differences in microvascular flow index values between survivors and nonsurvivors were not significant.ConclusionPersistent microcirculatory alterations can be prognostic for survival in children with septic shock.

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