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Hypovolemic/Hemorrhagic
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The most common cause of shock in the surgical or trauma patient is loss of circulating volume from hemorrhage. Acute blood loss results in reflexive decreased baroreceptor stimulation from stretch receptors in the large arteries, resulting in decreased inhibition of vasoconstrictor centers in the brain stem, increased chemoreceptor stimulation of vasomotor centers, and diminished output from atrial stretch receptors. These changes increase vasoconstriction and peripheral arterial resistance. Hypovolemia also induces sympathetic stimulation, leading to epinephrine and norepinephrine release, activation of the renin-angiotensin cascade, and increased vasopressin release. Peripheral vasoconstriction is prominent, while lack of sympathetic effects on cerebral and coronary vessels and local autoregulation promote maintenance of cardiac and CNS blood flow.
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Treatment of shock is initially empiric. A secure airway must be confirmed or established and volume infusion initiated while the search for the cause of the hypotension is pursued. Shock in a trauma patient or postoperative patient should be presumed to be due to hemorrhage until proven otherwise. The clinical signs of shock may be evidenced by agitation, cool clammy extremities, tachycardia, weak or absent peripheral pulses, and hypotension. Such apparent clinical shock results from at least 25% to 30% loss of the blood volume. However, substantial volumes of blood may be lost before the classic clinical manifestations of shock are evident. Thus, when a patient is significantly tachycardic or hypotensive, this represents both significant blood loss and physiologic decompensation. The clinical and physiologic response to hemorrhage has been classified according to the magnitude of volume loss. Loss of up to 15% of the circulating volume (700–750 mL for a 70-kg patient) may produce little in terms of obvious symptoms, while loss of up to 30% of the circulating volume (1.5 L) may result in mild tachycardia, tachypnea, and anxiety. Hypotension, marked tachycardia (i.e., pulse greater than 110–120 beats per minute [bpm]), and confusion may not be evident until more than 30% of the blood volume has been lost; loss of 40% of circulating volume (2 L) is immediately life threatening and generally requires operative control of bleeding (Table 5-5). Young healthy patients with vigorous compensatory mechanisms may tolerate larger volumes of blood loss while manifesting fewer clinical signs despite the presence of significant peripheral hypoperfusion. These patients may maintain a near-normal blood pressure until a precipitous cardiovascular collapse occurs. Elderly patients may be taking medications that either promote bleeding (e.g., warfarin or aspirin) or mask the compensatory responses to bleeding (e.g., β-blockers). In addition, atherosclerotic vascular disease, diminishing cardiac compliance with age, inability to elevate heart rate or cardiac contractility in response to hemorrhage, and overall decline in physiologic reserve decrease the elderly patient’s ability to tolerate hemorrhage. Recent data in trauma patients suggest that a systolic blood pressure (SBP) of less than 110 mmHg is a clinically relevant definition of hypotension and hypoperfusion based on an increasing rate of mortality below this pressure (Fig. 5-7).52
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In addressing the sensitivity of vital signs and identifying major thoracoabdominal hemorrhage, a study retrospectively identified patients with injury to the trunk and an abbreviated injury score of 3 or greater who required immediate surgical intervention and transfusion of at least 5 units of blood within the first 24 hours. Ninety-five percent of patients had a heart rate greater than 80 bpm at some point during their postinjury course. However, only 59% of patients achieved a heart rate greater than 120 bpm. Ninety-nine percent of all patients had a recorded blood pressure of less than 120 mmHg at some point. Ninety-three percent of all patients had a recorded SBP of less than 100 mmHg.53 A more recent study corroborated that tachycardia was not a reliable sign of hemorrhage following trauma and was present in only 65% of hypotensive patients.54
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Serum lactate and base deficit are measurements that are helpful to both estimate and monitor the extent of bleeding and shock. The amount of lactate that is produced by anaerobic respiration is an indirect marker of tissue hypoperfusion, cellular O2 debt, and the severity of hemorrhagic shock. Several studies have demonstrated that the initial serum lactate and serial lactate levels are reliable predictors of morbidity and mortality with hemorrhage following trauma (Fig. 5-8).55 Similarly, base deficit values derived from arterial blood gas analysis provide clinicians with an indirect estimation of tissue acidosis from hypoperfusion. Davis and colleagues stratified the extent of base deficit into mild (–3 to –5 mmol/L), moderate (–6 to –9 mmol/L), and severe (less than –10 mmol/L), and from this established a correlation between base deficit upon admission and transfusion requirements, the development of multiple organ failure, and death (Fig. 5-9).56 Both base deficit and lactate correlate with the extent of shock and patient outcome, but interestingly do not firmly correlate with each other.57,58,59 Evaluation of both values may be useful in trauma patients with hemorrhage.
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Although hematocrit changes may not rapidly reflect the total volume of blood loss, admission hematocrit has been shown to be associated with 24-hour fluid and transfusion requirements and more strongly associated with packed red blood cell transfusion than tachycardia, hypotension, or acidosis.60 It must be noted that lack of a depression in the initial hematocrit does not rule out substantial blood loss or ongoing bleeding.
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In management of trauma patients, understanding the patterns of injury of the patient in shock will help direct the evaluation and management. Identifying the sources of blood loss in patients with penetrating wounds is relatively simple because potential bleeding sources will be located along the known or suspected path of the wounding object. Patients with penetrating injuries who are in shock usually require operative intervention. Patients who suffer multisystem injuries from blunt trauma have multiple sources of potential hemorrhage. Blood loss sufficient to cause shock is generally of a large volume, and there are a limited number of sites that can harbor sufficient extravascular blood volume to induce hypotension (e.g., external, intrathoracic, intra-abdominal, retroperitoneal, and long bone fractures). In the nontrauma patient, the GI tract must always be considered as a site for blood loss. Substantial blood loss externally may be suspected from prehospital medical reports documenting a substantial blood loss at the scene of an accident, history of massive blood loss from wounds, visible brisk bleeding, or presence of a large hematoma adjacent to an open wound. Injuries to major arteries or veins with associated open wounds may cause massive blood loss rapidly. Direct pressure must be applied and sustained to minimize ongoing blood loss. Persistent bleeding from uncontrolled smaller vessels can, over time, precipitate shock if inadequately treated.
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When major blood loss is not immediately visible in the setting of trauma, internal (intracavitary) blood loss should be suspected. Each pleural cavity can hold 2 to 3 L of blood and can therefore be a site of significant blood loss. Diagnostic and therapeutic tube thoracostomy may be indicated in unstable patients based on clinical findings and clinical suspicion. In a more stable patient, a chest radiograph may be obtained to look for evidence of hemothorax. Major retroperitoneal hemorrhage typically occurs in association with pelvic fractures, which is confirmed by pelvic radiography in the resuscitation bay. Intraperitoneal hemorrhage is probably the most common source of blood loss inducing shock. The physical exam for detection of substantial blood loss or injury is insensitive and unreliable; large volumes of intraperitoneal blood may be present before physical examination findings are apparent. Findings with intra-abdominal hemorrhage include abdominal distension, abdominal tenderness, or visible abdominal wounds. Hemodynamic abnormalities generally stimulate a search for blood loss before the appearance of obvious abdominal findings. Adjunctive tests are essential in the diagnosis of intraperitoneal bleeding; intraperitoneal blood may be rapidly identified by diagnostic ultrasound or diagnostic peritoneal lavage. Furthermore, patients who have sustained high-energy blunt trauma who are hemodynamically stable or who have normalized their vital signs in response to initial volume resuscitation should undergo computed tomography scans to assess for head, chest, and/or abdominal bleeding.
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Control of ongoing hemorrhage is an essential component of the resuscitation of the patient in shock. As mentioned in the earlier Diagnosis section, treatment of hemorrhagic shock is instituted concurrently with diagnostic evaluation to identify a source. Patients who fail to respond to initial resuscitative efforts should be assumed to have ongoing active hemorrhage from large vessels and require prompt operative intervention. Based on trauma literature, patients with ongoing hemorrhage demonstrate increased survival if the elapsed time between the injury and control of bleeding is decreased. Although there are no randomized controlled trials, retrospective studies provide compelling evidence in this regard. To this end, Clarke and colleagues61 demonstrated that trauma patients with major injuries isolated to the abdomen requiring emergency laparotomy had an increased probability of death with increasing length of time in the emergency department for patients who were in the emergency department for 90 minutes or less. This probability increased approximately 1% for each 3 minutes in the emergency department.
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The appropriate priorities in these patients are (a) secure the airway, (b) control the source of blood loss, and (c) intravenous (IV) volume resuscitation. In trauma, identifying the body cavity harboring active hemorrhage will help focus operative efforts; however, because time is of the essence, rapid treatment is essential and diagnostic laparotomy or thoracotomy may be indicated. The actively bleeding patient cannot be resuscitated until control of ongoing hemorrhage is achieved. Our current understanding has led to the management strategy known as damage control resuscitation.62 This strategy begins in the emergency department and continues into the operating room and into the intensive care unit (ICU). Initial resuscitation is limited to keep SBP around 80 to 90 mmHg. This prevents renewed bleeding from recently clotted vessels. Resuscitation and intravascular volume resuscitation are accomplished with blood products and limited crystalloids, which is addressed further later in this section.Too little volume allowing persistent severe hypotension and hypoperfusion is dangerous, yet too vigorous of a volume resuscitation may be just as deleterious. Control of hemorrhage is achieved in the operating room, and efforts to warm patients and to prevent coagulopathy using multiple blood products and pharmacologic agents are used in both the operating room and ICU.
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Cannon and colleagues first made the observation that attempts to increase blood pressure in soldiers with uncontrolled sources of hemorrhage is counterproductive, with increased bleeding and higher mortality.3 This work was the foundation for the “hypotensive resuscitation” strategies. Several laboratory studies confirmed the observation that attempts to restore normal blood pressure with fluid infusion or vasopressors were rarely successful and resulted in more bleeding and higher mortality.63 A prospective, randomized clinical study compared delayed fluid resuscitation (upon arrival in the operating room) with standard fluid resuscitation (with arrival by the paramedics) in hypotensive patients with penetrating torso injury.64 The authors reported that delayed fluid resuscitation resulted in lower patient mortality. Further laboratory studies demonstrated that fluid restriction in the setting of profound hypotension resulted in early deaths from severe hypoperfusion. These studies also showed that aggressive crystalloid resuscitation attempting to normalize blood pressure resulted in marked hemodilution, with hematocrits of 5%.63 Reasonable conclusions in the setting of uncontrolled hemorrhage include: Any delay in surgery for control of hemorrhage increases mortality; with uncontrolled hemorrhage attempting to achieve normal blood pressure may increase mortality, particularly with penetrating injuries and short transport times; a goal of SBP of 80 to 90 mmHg may be adequate in the patient with penetrating injury; and profound hemodilution should be avoided by early transfusion of red blood cells. For the patient with blunt injury, where the major cause of death is a closed head injury, the increase in mortality with hypotension in the setting of brain injury must be avoided. In this setting, an SBP of 110 mmHg would seem to be more appropriate.
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Patients who respond to initial resuscitative effort but then deteriorate hemodynamically frequently have injuries that require operative intervention. The magnitude and duration of their response will dictate whether diagnostic maneuvers can be performed to identify the site of bleeding. However, hemodynamic deterioration generally denotes ongoing bleeding for which some form of intervention (i.e., operation or interventional radiology) is required. Patients who have lost significant intravascular volume, but whose hemorrhage is controlled or has abated, often will respond to resuscitative efforts if the depth and duration of shock have been limited.
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A subset of patients exists who fail to respond to resuscitative efforts despite adequate control of ongoing hemorrhage. These patients have ongoing fluid requirements despite adequate control of hemorrhage, have persistent hypotension despite restoration of intravascular volume necessitating vasopressor support, and may exhibit a futile cycle of uncorrectable hypoperfusion, acidosis, and coagulopathy that cannot be interrupted despite maximum therapy. These patients have deteriorated to decompensated or irreversible shock with peripheral vasodilation and resistance to vasopressor infusion. Mortality is inevitable once the patient manifests shock in its terminal stages. Unfortunately, this is often diagnosed in retrospect.
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Fluid resuscitation is a major adjunct to physically controlling hemorrhage in patients with shock. The ideal type of fluid to be used continues to be debated; however, crystalloids continue to be the mainstay of fluid choice. Several studies have demonstrated increased risk of death in bleeding trauma patients treated with colloid compared to patients treated with crystalloid.65 In patients with severe hemorrhage, restoration of intravascular volume should be achieved with blood products.66
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Ongoing studies continue to evaluate the use of hypertonic saline as a resuscitative adjunct in bleeding patients.67 The benefit of hypertonic saline solutions may be immunomodulatory. Specifically, these effects have been attributed to pharmacologic effects resulting in decreased reperfusion-mediated injury with decreased O2 radical formation, less impairment of immune function compared to standard crystalloid solution, and less brain swelling in the multi-injured patient. The reduction of total volume used for resuscitation makes this approach appealing as a resuscitation agent for combat injuries and may contribute to a decrease in the incidence of ARDS and multiple organ failure.
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Transfusion of packed red blood cells and other blood products is essential in the treatment of patients in hemorrhagic shock. Current recommendations in stable ICU patients aim for a target hemoglobin of 7 to 9 g/dL68,69; however, no prospective randomized trials have compared restrictive and liberal transfusion regimens in trauma patients with hemorrhagic shock. The current standard in severely injured patients is termed damage control resuscitation and consists of transfusion with red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma (FFP), and platelet units given in equal number.70 Civilian and military trauma data show that the development of coagulopathy of trauma is predictive of mortality.71 Data collected from a U.S. Army combat support hospital helped to propagate this practice, showing in patients who received massive transfusion of packed red blood cells (>10 units in 24 hours) that a high plasma-to-RBC ratio (1:1.4 units) was independently associated with improved survival (Fig. 5-10).72 A number of civilian studies have demonstrated similar results.73 Similarly, platelet transfusion is important. Studies have demonstrated that low platelet counts in trauma patients were associated with increased mortality74 and that increased platelet use appears to improve outcome.75,76 The benefit of platelet transfusion may be most pronounced in trauma patients with brain injury.77 Platelets should be transfused in the bleeding patient to maintain counts above 50 × 109/L.
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There is a potential role for other coagulation factor-based products, such as fibrinogen concentrates and prothrombin complex concentrates. Use of these agents may be guided by a drop in fibrinogen levels to less than 1 g/L or, less specifically, by thromboelastogram findings to suggest hyperfibrinolysis. Data also support the use of antifibrinolytic agents in bleeding trauma patients, specifically tranexamic acid (a synthetic lysine analogue that acts as a competitive inhibitor of plasmin and plasminogen). The multinational Clinical Randomization of an Antifibrinolytic in Significant Haemorrhage 2 (CRASH-2) trial suggested that early use of tranexamic acid limits rebleeding and reduces mortality78 (Fig. 5-11). In the past, coagulopathy associated with the bleeding patient was presumed to be due solely to dilution and depletion of clotting factors and platelets. We now understand that an acute coagulopathy of trauma occurs as an immediate consequence of injury, with abnormal admission coagulation as a predictor of high mortality.79 Traditional measurement of platelets, international normalized ratio, and partial thromboplastin time may not reflect the coagulopathy of trauma or response to therapy effectively. Recently, thromboelastography (TEG) has been used as a quicker, more comprehensive determination of coagulopathy and fibrinolysis in the injured patient. Holcomb and colleagues recently reported that TEG predicted patients with substantial bleeding and red cell transfusion better than conventional coagulopathy tests, need for platelet transfusion better than platelet count, and need for plasma transfusion better than fibrinogen levels.80
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Additional resuscitative adjuncts in patients with hemorrhagic shock include minimization of heat loss and maintaining normothermia. The development of hypothermia in the bleeding patient is associated with acidosis, hypotension, and coagulopathy. Hypothermia in bleeding trauma patients is an independent risk factor for bleeding and death. This likely is secondary to impaired platelet function and impairments in the coagulation cascade. Several studies have investigated the induction of controlled hypothermia in patients with severe shock based on the hypothesis of limiting metabolic activity and energy requirements, creating a state of “suspended animation.” These studies are promising and continue to be evaluated in large trials.
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The systemic response after trauma, combining the effects of soft tissue injury, long bone fractures, and blood loss, is clearly a different physiologic insult than simple hemorrhagic shock. Multiple organ failure, including ARDS, develops relatively often in the blunt trauma patient, but rarely after pure hemorrhagic shock (such as a GI bleed). The hypoperfusion deficit in traumatic shock is magnified by the proinflammatory activation that occurs following the induction of shock. In addition to ischemia or ischemia-reperfusion, accumulating evidence demonstrates that even simple hemorrhage induces proinflammatory activation that results in many of the cellular changes typically ascribed only to septic shock.81,82 At the cellular level, this may be attributable to the release of cellular products termed damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs; i.e., riboxynucleic acid, uric acid, and high mobility group box 1) that activate the same set of cell surface receptors as bacterial products, initiating similar cell signaling.5,83 These receptors are termed pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and include the TLR family of proteins. Examples of traumatic shock include small-volume hemorrhage accompanied by soft tissue injury (femur fracture, crush injury) or any combination of hypovolemic, neurogenic, cardiogenic, and obstructive shock that precipitates rapidly progressive proinflammatory activation. In laboratory models of traumatic shock, the addition of a soft tissue or long bone injury to hemorrhage produces lethality with significantly less blood loss when the animals are stressed by hemorrhage. Treatment of traumatic shock is focused on correction of the individual elements to diminish the cascade of proinflammatory activation and includes prompt control of hemorrhage, adequate volume resuscitation to correct O2 debt, débridement of nonviable tissue, stabilization of bony injuries, and appropriate treatment of soft tissue injuries.
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Septic Shock (Vasodilatory Shock)
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In the peripheral circulation, profound vasoconstriction is the typical physiologic response to the decreased arterial pressure and tissue perfusion with hemorrhage, hypovolemia, or acute heart failure. This is not the characteristic response in vasodilatory shock. Vasodilatory shock is the result of dysfunction of the endothelium and vasculature secondary to circulating inflammatory mediators and cells or as a response to prolonged and severe hypoperfusion. Thus, in vasodilatory shock, hypotension results from failure of the vascular smooth muscle to constrict appropriately. Vasodilatory shock is characterized by peripheral vasodilation with resultant hypotension and resistance to treatment with vasopressors. Despite the hypotension, plasma catecholamine levels are elevated, and the renin-angiotensin system is activated in vasodilatory shock. The most frequently encountered form of vasodilatory shock is septic shock. Other causes of vasodilatory shock include hypoxic lactic acidosis, carbon monoxide poisoning, decompensated and irreversible hemorrhagic shock, terminal cardiogenic shock, and postcardiotomy shock (Table 5-6). Thus, vasodilatory shock seems to represent the final common pathway for profound and prolonged shock of any etiology.84
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Despite advances in intensive care, the mortality rate for severe sepsis remains at 30% to 50%. In the United States, 750,000 cases of sepsis occur annually, one third of which are fatal.85 Sepsis accounts for 9.3% of deaths in the United States, as many yearly as MI. Septic shock is a by-product of the body’s response to disruption of the host-microbe equilibrium, resulting in invasive or severe localized infection.
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In the attempt to eradicate the pathogens, the immune and other cell types (e.g., endothelial cells) elaborate soluble mediators that enhance macrophage and neutrophil killing effector mechanisms, increase procoagulant activity and fibroblast activity to localize the invaders, and increase microvascular blood flow to enhance delivery of killing forces to the area of invasion. When this response is overly exuberant or becomes systemic rather than localized, manifestations of sepsis may be evident. These findings include enhanced cardiac output, peripheral vasodilation, fever, leukocytosis, hyperglycemia, and tachycardia. In septic shock, the vasodilatory effects are due, in part, to the upregulation of the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS or NOS 2) in the vessel wall. iNOS produces large quantities of nitric oxide for sustained periods of time. This potent vasodilator suppresses vascular tone and renders the vasculature resistant to the effects of vasoconstricting agents.
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Attempts to standardize terminology have led to the establishment of criteria for the diagnosis of sepsis in the hospitalized adult. These criteria include manifestations of the host response to infection in addition to identification of an offending organism. The terms sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock are used to quantify the magnitude of the systemic inflammatory reaction. Patients with sepsis have evidence of an infection, as well as systemic signs of inflammation (e.g., fever, leukocytosis, and tachycardia). Hypoperfusion with signs of organ dysfunction is termed severe sepsis. Septic shock requires the presence of the above, associated with more significant evidence of tissue hypoperfusion and systemic hypotension. Beyond the hypotension, maldistribution of blood flow and shunting in the microcirculation further compromise delivery of nutrients to the tissue beds.86,87
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Recognizing septic shock begins with defining the patient at risk. The clinical manifestations of septic shock will usually become evident and prompt the initiation of treatment before bacteriologic confirmation of an organism or the source of an organism is identified. In addition to fever, tachycardia, and tachypnea, signs of hypoperfusion such as confusion, malaise, oliguria, or hypotension may be present. These should prompt an aggressive search for infection, including a thorough physical examination, inspection of all wounds, evaluation of intravascular catheters or other foreign bodies, obtaining appropriate cultures, and adjunctive imaging studies, as needed.
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Evaluation of the patient in septic shock begins with an assessment of the adequacy of their airway and ventilation. Severely obtunded patients and patients whose work of breathing is excessive require intubation and ventilation to prevent respiratory collapse. Because vasodilation and decrease in total peripheral resistance may produce hypotension, fluid resuscitation and restoration of circulatory volume with balanced salt solutions is essential. This resuscitation should be at least 30 mL/kg within the first 4 to 6 hours. Incremental fluid boluses should be continued based on the endpoint of resuscitation, including clearance of lactate. Starch-based colloid solutions should be avoided, as recent evidence suggests that these fluids may be deleterious in the setting of sepsis.86,88,89 Empiric antibiotics must be chosen carefully based on the most likely pathogens (gram-negative rods, gram-positive cocci, and anaerobes) because the portal of entry of the offending organism and its identity may not be evident until culture data return or imaging studies are completed. Knowledge of the bacteriologic profile of infections in an individual unit can be obtained from most hospital infection control departments and will suggest potential responsible organisms. Antibiotics should be tailored to cover the responsible organisms once culture data are available, and if appropriate, the spectrum of coverage narrowed. Long-term, empiric, broad-spectrum antibiotic use should be minimized to reduce the development of resistant organisms and to avoid the potential complications of fungal overgrowth and antibiotic-associated colitis from overgrowth of Clostridium difficile. IV antibiotics will be insufficient to adequately treat the infectious episode in the settings of infected fluid collections, infected foreign bodies, and devitalized tissue. These situations require source control and involve percutaneous drainage and operative management to target a focus of infection. These situations may require multiple operations to ensure proper wound hygiene and healing.
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After first-line therapy of the septic patient with antibiotics, IV fluids, and intubation if necessary, vasopressors may be necessary to treat patients with septic shock. Catecholamines are the vasopressors used most often, with norepinephrine being the first-line agent followed by epinephrine. Occasionally, patients with septic shock will develop arterial resistance to catecholamines. Arginine vasopressin, a potent vasoconstrictor, is often efficacious in this setting and is often added to norepinephrine.
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The majority of septic patients have hyperdynamic physiology with supranormal cardiac output and low systemic vascular resistance. On occasion, septic patients may have low cardiac output despite volume resuscitation and even vasopressor support. Dobutamine therapy is recommended for patients with cardiac dysfunction as evidenced by high filling pressures and low cardiac output or clinical signs of hypoperfusion after achievement of restoration of blood pressure following fluid resuscitation. Mortality in this group is high. Despite the increasing incidence of septic shock over the past several decades, the overall mortality rates have changed little. Studies of interventions, including immunotherapy, resuscitation to pulmonary artery endpoints with hemodynamic optimization (cardiac output and O2 delivery, even to supranormal values), and optimization of mixed venous O2 measurements up to 72 hours after admission to the ICU, have not changed mortality.
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Over the past decade, multiple advances have been made in the treatment of patients with sepsis and septic shock and collaborative groups such as the Surviving Sepsis Campaign continue to evaluate, modify, and put forth recommendations based on data (Fig. 5-12).86 Negative results from previous studies have led to the suggestion that earlier interventions directed at improving global tissue oxygenation may be of benefit. To this end, Rivers and colleagues reported that goal-directed therapy of septic shock and severe sepsis initiated in the emergency department and continued for 6 hours significantly improved outcome.90 This approach involved adjustment of cardiac preload, afterload, and contractility to balance O2 delivery with O2 demand. They found that goal-directed therapy during the first 6 hours of hospital stay (initiated in the emergency department) had significant effects, such as higher mean venous O2 saturation, lower lactate levels, lower base deficit, higher pH, and decreased 28-day mortality (49.2% vs. 33.3%) compared to the standard therapy group. The frequency of sudden cardiovascular collapse was also significantly less in the group managed with goal-directed therapy (21.0% vs. 10.3%). Interestingly, the goal-directed therapy group received more IV fluids during the initial 6 hours, but the standard therapy group required more IV fluids by 72 hours. The authors emphasize that continued cellular and tissue decompensation is subclinical and often irreversible when obvious clinically. Goal-directed therapy allowed identification and treatment of these patients with insidious illness (global tissue hypoxia in the setting of normal vital signs).
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Hyperglycemia and insulin resistance are typical in critically ill and septic patients, including patients without underlying diabetes mellitus. A recent study reported significant positive impact of tight glucose management on outcome in critically ill patients.91 The two treatment groups in this randomized, prospective study were assigned to receive intensive insulin therapy (maintenance of blood glucose between 80 and 110 mg/dL) or conventional treatment (infusion of insulin only if the blood glucose level exceeded 215 mg/dL, with a goal between 180 and 200 mg/dL). The mean morning glucose level was significantly higher in the conventional treatment as compared to the intensive insulin therapy group (153 vs. 103 mg/dL). Mortality in the intensive insulin treatment group (4.6%) was significantly lower than in the conventional treatment group (8.0%), representing a 42% reduction in mortality. This reduction in mortality was most notable in the patients requiring longer than 5 days in the ICU. Furthermore, intensive insulin therapy reduced episodes of septicemia by 46%, reduced duration of antibiotic therapy, and decreased the need for prolonged ventilatory support and renal replacement therapy.
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Another treatment protocol that has been demonstrated to increase survival in patients with ARDS investigated the use of lower ventilatory tidal volumes compared to traditional tidal volumes.92 The majority of the patients enrolled in this multicenter, randomized trial developed ARDS secondary to pneumonia or sepsis. The trial compared traditional ventilation treatment, which involved an initial tidal volume of 12 mL/kg of predicted body weight, with ventilation with a lower tidal volume, which involved an initial tidal volume of 6 mL/kg of predicted body weight. The trial was stopped after the enrollment of 861 patients because mortality was lower in the group treated with lower tidal volumes than in the group treated with traditional tidal volumes (31.0% vs. 39.8%, P = .007), and the number of days without ventilator use during the first 28 days after randomization was greater in this group (mean ± SD, 12 ± 11 vs. 10 ± 11 days; P = .007). The investigators concluded that in patients with acute lung injury and ARDS, mechanical ventilation with a lower tidal volume than is traditionally used results in decreased mortality and increases the number of days without ventilator use. Additional strategies in ARDS management include higher levels of positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP), alveolar recruitment maneuvers, and prone positioning.
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The use of corticosteroids in the treatment of sepsis and septic shock has been controversial for decades. The observation that severe sepsis often is associated with adrenal insufficiency or glucocorticoid receptor resistance has generated renewed interest in therapy for septic shock with corticosteroids. A single IV dose of 50 mg of hydrocortisone improved mean arterial blood pressure response relationships to norepinephrine and phenylephrine in patients with septic shock and was most notable in patients with relative adrenal insufficiency. A more recent study evaluated therapy with hydrocortisone (50 mg IV every 6 hours) and fludrocortisone (50 μg orally once daily) versus placebo for 1 week in patients with septic shock.93 As in earlier studies, the authors performed corticotropin tests on these patients to document and stratify patients by relative adrenal insufficiency. In this study, 7-day treatment with low doses of hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone significantly and safely lowered the risk of death in patients with septic shock and relative adrenal insufficiency. In an international, multicenter, randomized trial of corticosteroids in sepsis (CORTICUS study; 499 analyzable patients), steroids showed no benefit in intent-to-treat mortality or shock reversal.94 This study suggested that hydrocortisone therapy cannot be recommended as routine adjuvant therapy for septic shock. However, if SBP remains less than 90 mmHg despite appropriate fluid and vasopressor therapy, hydrocortisone at 200 mg/d for 7 days in four divided doses or by continuous infusion should be considered.
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Additional adjunctive immune modulation strategies have been developed for the treatment of septic shock. These include the use of antiendotoxin antibodies, anticytokine antibodies, cytokine receptor antagonists, immune enhancers, a non–isoform-specific nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, and O2 radical scavengers. These compounds are each designed to alter some aspect of the host immune response to shock that is hypothesized to play a key role in its pathophysiology. However, most of these strategies have failed to demonstrate efficacy in human patients despite utility in well-controlled animal experiments. It is unclear whether the failure of these compounds is due to poorly designed clinical trials, inadequate understanding of the interactions of the complex host immune response to injury and infection, or animal models of shock that poorly represent the human disease.
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Cardiogenic shock is defined clinically as circulatory pump failure leading to diminished forward flow and subsequent tissue hypoxia, in the setting of adequate intravascular volume. Hemodynamic criteria include sustained hypotension (i.e., SBP <90 mmHg for at least 30 minutes), reduced cardiac index (<2.2 L/min per square meter), and elevated pulmonary artery wedge pressure (>15 mmHg).95 Mortality rates for cardiogenic shock are 50% to 80%. Acute, extensive MI is the most common cause of cardiogenic shock; a smaller infarction in a patient with existing left ventricular dysfunction also may precipitate shock. Cardiogenic shock complicates 5% to 10% of acute MIs. Conversely, cardiogenic shock is the most common cause of death in patients hospitalized with acute MI. Although shock may develop early after MI, it typically is not found on admission. Seventy-five percent of patients who have cardiogenic shock complicating acute MIs develop signs of cardiogenic shock within 24 hours after onset of infarction (average 7 hours).
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Recognition of the patient with occult hypoperfusion is critical to prevent progression to obvious cardiogenic shock with its high mortality rate; early initiation of therapy to maintain blood pressure and cardiac output is vital. Rapid assessment, adequate resuscitation, and reversal of the myocardial ischemia are essential in optimizing outcome in patients with acute MI. Prevention of infarct extension is a critical component. Large segments of nonfunctional but viable myocardium contribute to the development of cardiogenic shock after MI. In the setting of acute MI, expeditious restoration of cardiac output is mandatory to minimize mortality; the extent of myocardial salvage possible decreases exponentially with increased time to restoration of coronary blood flow. The degree of coronary flow after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty correlates with in-hospital mortality (i.e., 33% mortality with complete reperfusion, 50% mortality with incomplete reperfusion, and 85% mortality with absent reperfusion).96 Inadequate cardiac function can be a direct result of cardiac injury, including profound myocardial contusion, blunt cardiac valvular injury, or direct myocardial damage (Table 5-7).95,96,97,98 The pathophysiology of cardiogenic shock involves a vicious cycle of myocardial ischemia that causes myocardial dysfunction, which results in more myocardial ischemia. When sufficient mass of the left ventricular wall is necrotic or ischemic and fails to pump, the stroke volume decreases. An autopsy series of patients dying from cardiogenic shock has found damage to 40% of the left ventricle.99 Ischemia distant from the infarct zone may contribute to the systolic dysfunction in patients with cardiogenic shock. The majority of these patients have multivessel disease, with limited vasodilator reserve and pressure-dependent coronary flow in multiple areas of the heart. Myocardial diastolic function is impaired in cardiogenic shock as well. Decreased compliance results from myocardial ischemia, and compensatory increases in left ventricular filling pressures progressively occur.
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Diminished cardiac output or contractility in the face of adequate intravascular volume (preload) may lead to underperfused vascular beds and reflexive sympathetic discharge. Increased sympathetic stimulation of the heart, either through direct neural input or from circulating catecholamines, increases heart rate, myocardial contraction, and myocardial O2 consumption, which may not be relieved by increases in coronary artery blood flow in patients with fixed stenoses of the coronary arteries. Diminished cardiac output may also decrease coronary artery blood flow, resulting in a scenario of increased myocardial O2 demand at a time when myocardial O2 supply may be limited. Acute heart failure may also result in fluid accumulation in the pulmonary microcirculatory bed, decreasing myocardial O2 delivery even further.
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Rapid identification of the patient with pump failure and institution of corrective action are essential in preventing the ongoing spiral of decreased cardiac output from injury causing increased myocardial O2 needs that cannot be met, leading to progressive and unremitting cardiac dysfunction. In evaluation of possible cardiogenic shock, other causes of hypotension must be excluded, including hemorrhage, sepsis, pulmonary embolism, and aortic dissection. Signs of circulatory shock include hypotension, cool and mottled skin, depressed mental status, tachycardia, and diminished pulses. Cardiac exam may include dysrhythmia, precordial heave, or distal heart tones. Confirmation of a cardiac source for the shock requires electrocardiogram and urgent echocardiography. Other useful diagnostic tests include chest radiograph, arterial blood gases, electrolytes, complete blood count, and cardiac enzymes. Invasive cardiac monitoring, which generally is not necessary, can be useful to exclude right ventricular infarction, hypovolemia, and possible mechanical complications.
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Making the diagnosis of cardiogenic shock involves the identification of cardiac dysfunction or acute heart failure in a susceptible patient. In the setting of blunt traumatic injury, hemorrhagic shock from intra-abdominal bleeding, intrathoracic bleeding, and bleeding from fractures must be excluded, before implicating cardiogenic shock from blunt cardiac injury. Relatively few patients with blunt cardiac injury will develop cardiac pump dysfunction. Those who do generally exhibit cardiogenic shock early in their evaluation. Therefore, establishing the diagnosis of blunt cardiac injury is secondary to excluding other etiologies for shock and establishing that cardiac dysfunction is present. Invasive hemodynamic monitoring with a pulmonary artery catheter may uncover evidence of diminished cardiac output and elevated pulmonary artery pressure.
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After ensuring that an adequate airway is present and ventilation is sufficient, attention should be focused on support of the circulation. Intubation and mechanical ventilation often are required, if only to decrease work of breathing and facilitate sedation of the patient. Rapidly excluding hypovolemia and establishing the presence of cardiac dysfunction are essential. Treatment of cardiac dysfunction includes maintenance of adequate oxygenation to ensure adequate myocardial O2 delivery and judicious fluid administration to avoid fluid overload and development of cardiogenic pulmonary edema. Electrolyte abnormalities, commonly hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia, should be corrected. Pain is treated with IV morphine sulfate or fentanyl. Significant dysrhythmias and heart block must be treated with antiarrhythmic drugs, pacing, or cardioversion, if necessary. Early consultation with cardiology is essential in current management of cardiogenic shock, particularly in the setting of acute MI.95
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When profound cardiac dysfunction exists, inotropic support may be indicated to improve cardiac contractility and cardiac output. Dobutamine primarily stimulates cardiac β1 receptors to increase cardiac output but may also vasodilate peripheral vascular beds, lower total peripheral resistance, and lower systemic blood pressure through effects on β2 receptors. Ensuring adequate preload and intravascular volume is therefore essential prior to instituting therapy with dobutamine. Dopamine stimulates receptors (vasoconstriction), β1 receptors (cardiac stimulation), and β2 receptors (vasodilation), with its effects on β receptors predominating at lower doses. Dopamine may be preferable to dobutamine in treatment of cardiac dysfunction in hypotensive patients. Tachycardia and increased peripheral resistance from dopamine infusion may worsen myocardial ischemia. Titration of both dopamine and dobutamine infusions may be required in some patients.
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Epinephrine stimulates α and β receptors and may increase cardiac contractility and heart rate; however, it also may have intense peripheral vasoconstrictor effects that impair further cardiac performance. Catecholamine infusions must be carefully controlled to maximize coronary perfusion, while minimizing myocardial O2 demand. Balancing the beneficial effects of impaired cardiac performance with the potential side effects of excessive reflex tachycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction requires serial assessment of tissue perfusion using indices such as capillary refill, character of peripheral pulses, adequacy of urine output, or improvement in laboratory parameters of resuscitation such as pH, base deficit, and lactate. Invasive monitoring generally is necessary in these unstable patients. The phosphodiesterase inhibitors amrinone and milrinone may be required on occasion in patients with resistant cardiogenic shock. These agents have long half-lives and induce thrombocytopenia and hypotension, and use is reserved for patients unresponsive to other treatment.
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Patients whose cardiac dysfunction is refractory to cardiotonics may require mechanical circulatory support with an intra-aortic balloon pump.100 Intra-aortic balloon pumping increases cardiac output and improves coronary blood flow by reduction of systolic afterload and augmentation of diastolic perfusion pressure. Unlike vasopressor agents, these beneficial effects occur without an increase in myocardial O2 demand. An intra-aortic balloon pump can be inserted at the bedside in the ICU via the femoral artery through either a cutdown or using the percutaneous approach. Aggressive circulatory support of patients with cardiac dysfunction from intrinsic cardiac disease has led to more widespread application of these devices and more familiarity with their operation by both physicians and critical care nurses.
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Preservation of existing myocardium and preservation of cardiac function are priorities of therapy for patients who have suffered an acute MI. Ensuring adequate oxygenation and O2 delivery, maintaining adequate preload with judicious volume restoration, minimizing sympathetic discharge through adequate relief of pain, and correcting electrolyte imbalances are all straightforward nonspecific maneuvers that may improve existing cardiac function or prevent future cardiac complications. Anticoagulation and aspirin are given for acute MI. Although thrombolytic therapy reduces mortality in patients with acute MI, its role in cardiogenic shock is less clear. Patients in cardiac failure from an acute MI may benefit from pharmacologic or mechanical circulatory support in a manner similar to that of patients with cardiac failure related to blunt cardiac injury. Additional pharmacologic tools may include the use of β-blockers to control heart rate and myocardial O2 consumption, nitrates to promote coronary blood flow through vasodilation, and ACE inhibitors to reduce ACE-mediated vasoconstrictive effects that increase myocardial workload and myocardial O2 consumption.
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Current guidelines of the American Heart Association recommend percutaneous transluminal coronary angiography for patients with cardiogenic shock, ST elevation, left bundle-branch block, and age less than 75 years.101,102 Early definition of coronary anatomy and revascularization is the pivotal step in treatment of patients with cardiogenic shock from acute MI.103 When feasible, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (generally with stent placement) is the treatment of choice. Coronary artery bypass grafting seems to be more appropriate for patients with multiple vessel disease or left main coronary artery disease.
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Although obstructive shock can be caused by a number of different etiologies that result in mechanical obstruction of venous return (Table 5-8), in trauma patients, this is most commonly due to the presence of tension pneumothorax. Cardiac tamponade occurs when sufficient fluid has accumulated in the pericardial sac to obstruct blood flow to the ventricles. The hemodynamic abnormalities in pericardial tamponade are due to elevation of intracardiac pressures with limitation of ventricular filling in diastole with resultant decrease in cardiac output. Acutely, the pericardium does not distend; thus small volumes of blood may produce cardiac tamponade. If the effusion accumulates slowly (e.g., in the setting of uremia, heart failure, or malignant effusion), the quantity of fluid producing cardiac tamponade may reach 2000 mL. The major determinant of the degree of hypotension is the pericardial pressure. With either cardiac tamponade or tension pneumothorax, reduced filling of the right side of the heart from either increased intrapleural pressure secondary to air accumulation (tension pneumothorax) or increased intrapericardial pressure precluding atrial filling secondary to blood accumulation (cardiac tamponade) results in decreased cardiac output associated with increased central venous pressure.
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Diagnosis and Treatment
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The diagnosis of tension pneumothorax should be made on clinical examination. The classic findings include respiratory distress (in an awake patient), hypotension, diminished breath sounds over one hemithorax, hyperresonance to percussion, jugular venous distention, and shift of mediastinal structures to the unaffected side with tracheal deviation. In most instances, empiric treatment with pleural decompression is indicated rather than delaying to wait for radiographic confirmation. When a chest tube cannot be immediately inserted, such as in the prehospital setting, the pleural space can be decompressed with a large-caliber needle. Immediate return of air should be encountered with rapid resolution of hypotension. Unfortunately, not all of the clinical manifestations of tension pneumothorax may be evident on physical examination. Hyperresonance may be difficult to appreciate in a noisy resuscitation area. Jugular venous distention may be absent in a hypovolemic patient. Tracheal deviation is a late finding and often is not apparent on clinical examination. Practically, three findings are sufficient to make the diagnosis of tension pneumothorax: respiratory distress or hypotension, decreased lung sounds, and hypertympany to percussion. Chest x-ray findings that may be visualized include deviation of mediastinal structures, depression of the hemidiaphragm, and hypo-opacification with absent lung markings. As discussed earlier, definitive treatment of a tension pneumothorax is immediate tube thoracostomy. The chest tube should be inserted rapidly, but carefully, and should be large enough to evacuate any blood that may be present in the pleural space. Most recommend placement in the fourth intercostal space (nipple level) at the anterior axillary line.
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Cardiac tamponade results from the accumulation of blood within the pericardial sac, usually from penetrating trauma or chronic medical conditions such as heart failure or uremia. Although precordial wounds are most likely to injure the heart and produce tamponade, any projectile or wounding agent that passes in proximity to the mediastinum can potentially produce tamponade. Blunt cardiac rupture, a rare event in trauma victims who survive long enough to reach the hospital, can produce refractory shock and tamponade in the multiply-injured patient. The manifestations of cardiac tamponade, such as total circulatory collapse and cardiac arrest, may be catastrophic, or they may be more subtle. A high index of suspicion is warranted to make a rapid diagnosis. Patients who present with circulatory arrest from cardiac tamponade require emergency pericardial decompression, usually through a left thoracotomy. The indications for this maneuver are discussed in Chap. 7. Cardiac tamponade also may be associated with dyspnea, orthopnea, cough, peripheral edema, chest pain, tachycardia, muffled heart tones, jugular venous distention, and elevated central venous pressure. Beck’s triad consists of hypotension, muffled heart tones, and neck vein distention. Unfortunately, absence of these clinical findings may not be sufficient to exclude cardiac injury and cardiac tamponade. Muffled heart tones may be difficult to appreciate in a busy trauma center, and jugular venous distention and central venous pressure may be diminished by coexistent bleeding. Therefore, patients at risk for cardiac tamponade whose hemodynamic status permits additional diagnostic tests frequently require additional diagnostic maneuvers to confirm cardiac injury or tamponade.
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Invasive hemodynamic monitoring may support the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade if elevated central venous pressure, pulsus paradoxus (i.e., decreased systemic arterial pressure with inspiration), or elevated right atrial and right ventricular pressure by pulmonary artery catheter is present. These hemodynamic profiles suffer from lack of specificity, the duration of time required to obtain them in critically injured patients, and their inability to exclude cardiac injury in the absence of tamponade. Chest radiographs may provide information on the possible trajectory of a projectile, but rarely are diagnostic because the acutely filled pericardium distends poorly. Echocardiography has become the preferred test for the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade. Good results in detecting pericardial fluid have been reported, but the yield in detecting pericardial fluid depends on the skill and experience of the ultrasonographer, body habitus of the patient, and absence of wounds that preclude visualization of the pericardium. Standard two-dimensional and transesophageal echocardiography are sensitive techniques to evaluate the pericardium for fluid and are typically performed by examiners skilled at evaluating ventricular function, valvular abnormalities, and integrity of the proximal thoracic aorta. Unfortunately, these skilled examiners are rarely immediately available at all hours of the night, when many trauma patients present; therefore, waiting for this test may result in inordinate delays. In addition, although both ultrasound techniques may demonstrate the presence of fluid or characteristic findings of tamponade (large volume of fluid, right atrial collapse, poor distensibility of the right ventricle), they do not exclude cardiac injury per se. Pericardiocentesis to diagnose pericardial blood and potentially relieve tamponade may be used. Performing pericardiocentesis under ultrasound guidance has made the procedure safer and more reliable. An indwelling catheter may be placed for several days in patients with chronic pericardial effusions. Needle pericardiocentesis may not evacuate clotted blood and has the potential to produce cardiac injury, making it a poor alternative in busy trauma centers.
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Diagnostic pericardial window represents the most direct method to determine the presence of blood within the pericardium. The procedure is best performed in the operating room under general anesthesia. It can be performed through either the subxiphoid or transdiaphragmatic approach. Adequate equipment and personnel to rapidly decompress the pericardium, explore the injury, and repair the heart should be present. Once the pericardium is opened and tamponade relieved, hemodynamics usually improve dramatically and formal pericardial exploration can ensue. Exposure of the heart can be achieved by extending the incision to a median sternotomy, performing a left anterior thoracotomy, or performing bilateral anterior thoracotomies (“clamshell”).
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Neurogenic shock refers to diminished tissue perfusion as a result of loss of vasomotor tone to peripheral arterial beds. Loss of vasoconstrictor impulses results in increased vascular capacitance, decreased venous return, and decreased cardiac output. Neurogenic shock is usually secondary to spinal cord injuries from vertebral body fractures of the cervical or high thoracic region that disrupt sympathetic regulation of peripheral vascular tone (Table 5-9). Rarely, a spinal cord injury without bony fracture, such as an epidural hematoma impinging on the spinal cord, can produce neurogenic shock. Sympathetic input to the heart, which normally increases heart rate and cardiac contractility, and input to the adrenal medulla, which increases catecholamine release, may also be disrupted, preventing the typical reflex tachycardia that occurs with hypovolemia. Acute spinal cord injury results in activation of multiple secondary injury mechanisms: (a) vascular compromise to the spinal cord with loss of autoregulation, vasospasm, and thrombosis; (b) loss of cellular membrane integrity and impaired energy metabolism; and (c) neurotransmitter accumulation and release of free radicals. Importantly, hypotension contributes to the worsening of acute spinal cord injury as the result of further reduction in blood flow to the spinal cord. Management of acute spinal cord injury with attention to blood pressure control, oxygenation, and hemodynamics, essentially optimizing perfusion of an already ischemic spinal cord, seems to result in improved neurologic outcome. Patients with hypotension from spinal cord injury are best monitored in an ICU and carefully followed for evidence of cardiac or respiratory dysfunction.
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Acute spinal cord injury may result in bradycardia, hypotension, cardiac dysrhythmias, reduced cardiac output, and decreased peripheral vascular resistance. The severity of the spinal cord injury seems to correlate with the magnitude of cardiovascular dysfunction. Patients with complete motor injuries are over five times more likely to require vasopressors for neurogenic shock compared to those with incomplete lesions.104 The classic description of neurogenic shock consists of decreased blood pressure associated with bradycardia (absence of reflexive tachycardia due to disrupted sympathetic discharge), warm extremities (loss of peripheral vasoconstriction), motor and sensory deficits indicative of a spinal cord injury, and radiographic evidence of a vertebral column fracture. Patients with multisystem trauma that includes spinal cord injuries often have head injuries that may make identification of motor and sensory deficits difficult in the initial evaluation. Furthermore, associated injuries may occur that result in hypovolemia, further complicating the clinical presentation. In a subset of patients with spinal cord injuries from penetrating wounds, most of the patients with hypotension had blood loss as the etiology (74%) rather than neurogenic causes, and few (7%) had the classic findings of neurogenic shock.105 In the multiply injured patient, other causes of hypotension, including hemorrhage, tension pneumothorax, and cardiogenic shock, must be sought and excluded.
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After the airway is secured and ventilation is adequate, fluid resuscitation and restoration of intravascular volume often will improve perfusion in neurogenic shock. Most patients with neurogenic shock will respond to restoration of intravascular volume alone, with satisfactory improvement in perfusion and resolution of hypotension. Administration of vasoconstrictors will improve peripheral vascular tone, decrease vascular capacitance, and increase venous return, but should only be considered once hypovolemia is excluded as the cause of the hypotension and the diagnosis of neurogenic shock established. If the patient’s blood pressure has not responded to what is felt to be adequate volume resuscitation, dopamine may be used first. A pure α agonist, such as phenylephrine, may be used primarily or in patients unresponsive to dopamine. Specific treatment for the hypotension is often of brief duration, as the need to administer vasoconstrictors typically lasts 24 to 48 hours. On the other hand, life-threatening cardiac dysrhythmias and hypotension may occur up to 14 days after spinal cord injury.
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The duration of the need for vasopressor support for neurogenic shock may correlate with the overall prognosis or chances of improvement in neurologic function. Appropriate rapid restoration of blood pressure and circulatory perfusion may improve perfusion to the spinal cord, prevent progressive spinal cord ischemia, and minimize secondary cord injury. Restoration of normal blood pressure and adequate tissue perfusion should precede any operative attempts to stabilize the vertebral fracture.