Early and exclusive use of norepinephrine in septic shock

Background: The timing and use of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) (NE) in septic shock remain a matter of controversy. Aim: To study the outcome of septic patients treated with early and exclusive NE. Setting: Tertiary Intensive Care Unit. Patients: 142 patients with septic shock. Intervention: Exclusive NE infusion within 24 hours of admission to ICU. Methods and main results: Retrospective analysis of data from a unit database identified 142 patients. Their median admission simplified acute physiology score (SAPS II) score was 46 [38, 56] with 98 (69%) receiving mechanical ventilation. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) at the start of NE infusion was 60 [58, 68] mmHg. NE infusion was started at a median of 1.3 [0.3, 5.0] h after ICU admission. Restoration and maintenance of target MAP was achieved initially in all patients and, in 61.3%, within 30 min. The median peak dose of NE was 0.28 [0.14, 0.61] μg/(kg min) and the duration of infusion was 88 [42, 175] h. SAPS II predicted mortality was 40.8%, however, only 34.5% (P=0.27) died. Among the most severely ill patients (SAPS II score >56) actual mortality was 50.0% versus 74.7% predicted (P=0.07). Conclusions: Early and exclusive use of NE in hyperdynamic septic shock achieved a stable MAP >75 mmHg in all patients. Survival compared favorably with that predicted by illness severity scores.