Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Maintaining the optimal blood pressure is an important aspect of preventing acute kidney injury (AKI), especially for vasopressor-dependent patients. Although mean arterial pressure (MAP) has played an important role in previous trials for prevention of AKI, there is little evidence that MAP actually reflects organ perfusion. ⋯ This emphasizes the importance of maintaining diastolic arterial pressure and avoiding elevation of CVP to prevent AKI in patients with sepsis or invasive surgery. To achieve this, further investigation regarding titrated fluid therapy and vasopressors is warranted.
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One quarter of patients suffering from acute critical illness such as severe trauma, sepsis, myocardial infarction (MI) or post cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) develop severe hemostatic aberrations and coagulopathy, which are associated with excess mortality. Despite the different types of injurious "hit", acutely critically ill patients share several phenotypic features that may be driven by the shock. This response, mounted by the body to various life-threatening conditions, is relatively homogenous and most likely evolutionarily adapted. ⋯ We have investigated more than 3000 patients suffering from different types of acute critical illness (severe trauma, sepsis, MI and PCAS) and have found a potential unifying pathologic link between sympatho-adrenal hyperactivation, endotheliopathy, and poor outcome. We entitled this proposed disease entity, shock-induced endotheliopathy (SHINE). Here we review the literature and discuss the pathophysiology of SHINE.