Place of Echocardiography in IV Fluid Therapy in Patients With Septic Shock and Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction

IV fluid therapy remains an essential haemodynamic objective in the treatment strategy of septic shock. Left ventricular systolic dysfunction secondary to sepsis is observed in 40% and up to 65% of the population concerned. However, the capacity of the various indices to predict the response to IV fluid therapy in septic shock with left ventricular systolic dysfunction have not been clearly defined. Measurement of parameters reflecting filling pressures during transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is one of the methods used to evaluate cardiac function and estimate the filling reserve, but with no strong evidence. Right heart catheterization with determination of cardiac output by pulmonary thermodilution can also be used to measure the various parameters commonly used to predict the response to IV fluid therapy. Very few data are available with no reliable and clinically relevant data in this population with septic shock and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF ≤ 40%) and the response to IV fluid therapy monitored by dynamic indices obtained by transpulmonary thermodilution and right heart catheterization. Consequently, the capacity of the various indices of preload dependence to predict the response to IV fluid therapy in septic shock with left ventricular systolic dysfunction remains difficult to define.