The Use of Ultrasound in Caring for Patients with Sepsis.

Abstract

Echocardiography is a noninvasive and accurate tool used in the intensive care unit to assess cardiac function and monitor hemodynamics in shocked patients. During severe sepsis or septic shock, several mechanisms can lead to hemodynamic failure and have to be quickly and precisely diagnosed to propose adequate, personalized, and timely hemodynamic therapy. Echocardiography truly provides intensivists with this diagnostic possibility, whether or not there is fluid responsiveness, cardiac dysfunction, or persistent vasoplegia. Acquiring skills in critical care echocardiography is mandatory in improving management and monitoring of patients with sepsis at the bedside. How critical care echocardiography in managing patients with septic shock improves prognosis remains to be elucidated.

• Authors: Laurent Guérin, Antoine Vieillard-Baron
• Journal: Clinics in chest medicine (Clin Chest Med) Vol. 37 Issue 2 Pg. 299-307 (06 2016) ISSN: 1557-8216 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 27229646 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Cardiomyopathies (etiology)
• Hemodynamics
• Humans
• Intensive Care Units
• Sepsis (diagnostic imaging)