The Surgical clinics of North America
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Surg. Clin. North Am. · Aug 1985
ReviewMyocardial function in the critically ill: factors influencing left and right ventricular performance in patients with sepsis and trauma.
Myocardial performance in critically ill patients is primarily responsive to the need to supply O2 to the periphery. An increase in CO is the common finding in an acute illness characterized by an increase in systemic VO2 (for example, sepsis and trauma), since acute variations in flow are the most efficacious mode of augmenting systemic O2t to match the VO2. The lower systemic VO2 of a patient with an acute cardiac illness explains why the CO in this disease is not as elevated as that found in the acutely ill patient with sepsis or trauma. ⋯ Vasodilators may be used to increase CO by reducing impedance to ventricular ejection; they may also improve LV compliance, thereby allowing the administration of more fluid (that is, increasing preload) without an untoward rise in the PCWP. If vasodilators are without effect or are potentially dangerous because of concomitant hypotension, inotropic support to increase O2t is required. A brief summary of interventional pharmacologic support in acute illness is depicted in Figure 8.