Document Detail


Current strategies for managing the patient with sepsis.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  11885413     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Key elements of the current approach to treating sepsis are reviewed, and examples are given to illustrate the difficulty of designing and evaluating trials in sepsis. A patient with sepsis is likely to have symptoms characteristic of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Initially, ruling out noninfective causes, locating the site of infection, and obtaining cultures before beginning antimicrobial therapy are critical. Aggressive fluid resuscitation and hemodynamic support are used to restore tissue perfusion and normalize cellular metabolism. Vasopressor therapy with dopamine or norepinephrine is needed in patients unresponsive to fluid resuscitation. Dobutamine should be administered in patients whose cardiac output is inadequate despite optimization of fluids and pressors. Supportive care includes deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, nutrition support, stress ulcer prophylaxis, and management of acute lung injury. Attempts to modify the sepsis response and improve the outcome in these patients have yielded limited benefits. Recent small studies have shown benefits with low-dose hydrocortisone in patients with refractory sepsis. One challenge in study design is that a therapy may target a subset of patients that cannot be identified at the outset. Management of patients with suspected or documented sepsis focuses on hemodynamic support, appropriate antimicrobial therapy, and other supportive care.
Authors:
David A Kuhl
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists     Volume:  59 Suppl 1     ISSN:  1079-2082     ISO Abbreviation:  Am J Health Syst Pharm     Publication Date:  2002 Feb 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2002-03-11     Completed Date:  2002-08-19     Revised Date:  2007-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9503023     Medline TA:  Am J Health Syst Pharm     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  S9-13     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy Services, Baptist Memorial Hospital, Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation, 6019 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, TN 38120, USA. david.kuhl@bmhcc.org
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Clinical Trials as Topic
Fluid Therapy
Hemodynamics / physiology
Humans
Sepsis / diagnosis,  immunology,  physiopathology,  therapy*

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