Refractory septic shock: our pragmatic approach

Prashanth Nandhabalan, Nicholas Ioannou, Christopher Meadows, Duncan Wyncoll, Prashanth Nandhabalan, Nicholas Ioannou, Christopher Meadows, Duncan Wyncoll

Abstract

Despite timely intervention, there exists a small subgroup of patients with septic shock who develop progressive multi-organ failure. Seemingly refractory to conventional therapy, they exhibit a very high mortality. Such patients are often poorly represented in large clinical trials. Consequently, good evidence for effective treatment strategies is lacking. In this article, we describe a pragmatic, multi-faceted approach to managing patients with refractory septic shock based on our experience of toxin-mediated sepsis in a specialist referral centre. Many components of this strategy are inexpensive and widely accessible, and so may offer an opportunity to improve outcomes in these critically ill patients.

Keywords: High-dose vasopressors; Multi-organ failure; Refractory septic shock; Septic cardiomyopathy; Toxin-producing bacteria.

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