Septic shock in ICU: update in hemodynamic monitoring

One of the cornerstones of treatment of the patient in shock is the use of intravenous fl uids.4 However, its use and dosage is still carried out empirically. Fundamentally, the only reason for providing fl uids to a critically ill patient is to increase the systolic volume (SV) and, in this manner, the cardiac output (CO).5 However, taking into consideration that only 50% of critical patients respond to fl uid expansion, due to myocardial dysfunction and altered adrenergic sensibility,6 the hemodynamic parameters for deciding on administration of these fl uids should identify those patients (responsive patients) who would benefi t and at the same time avoid useless and potentially harmful treatments for those who would not respond. The risk of an insuffi cient dose of fl uids is tissue hypoperfusion which, in an uncorrected picture of hypovoABSTRACT