The Effect of Vasopressor Therapy on Renal Perfusion in Septic Shock

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of septic shock and together these conditions carry a high mortality risk. In septic patients who develop severe AKI renal cortical perfusion is deficient despite normal macrovascular organ blood flow. This intra-renal perfusion abnormality may be amenable to pharmacological manipulation, which may offer mechanistic insight into the pathophysiology of septic AKI. The aim of the current study is to investigate the effects of vasopressin and angiotensin II on renal microcirculatory perfusion in a cohort of patients with septic shock.