Sublingual microcirculation asessment in a patient with septic shock

Abstract

Introduction: Septic shock involves a complicated network of circulatory, inflammatory and metabolic disturbances,leading to cellular energetic disruption. Microcirculatory alterations are frequently observed in septic shock, being characteristic the presence of weak microcirculatory units and heterogeneous microcircu-latory flow. 

Clinical Case: A female patient, two months of age, with a pulmonary process-originated septic shock is presented. The description of microcirculation alterations at 24, 72 and 120 hrs was performed while the patient underwent therapy. A MicroScan®, (MicroVision Medical, Amsterdam, Holland) was utilised on the sublingual area. The patient received ventilation support, reanimation fluids, vasoactive drugs and antibiotics. The patient presented low proportion of perfused capillary vessels, low ratio of microcirculatory flow and a high heterogeneity in flow in the first measurement, all of them independant from systemic hemodynamics and disoxia indicators. These severe alterations improved progressively at 72 and 120 hrs of therapy. 

Discussion: Microcirculatory alterations and its time evolution may be a tool for dynamic diagnostic and severity staging assesment in septic shock. Further studies should assess microcirculation as a target for therapeutic intervention (microcirculatory resuscitation), being also of prognostic value for septic shock and severe sepsis in children.