Patient population
tachycardia, hypotension, septic shock, carotid artery stenosis, heart failure
PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE, VALVULAR HEART DISEASE, CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA, SEPTIC SHOCK, CAROTID ARTERY STENOSIS, HEART FAILURE
The institutional review board of Policlinico Agostino Gemelli University Hospital approved the present study (Prot. N. 0048329/18 ID 1677) retrospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04470856 on July 14, 2020. All patients or their legal representatives gave their written informed consent to participate.All adult patients (≥ 18 y) admitted to the general ICU of Policlinico Agostino Gemelli University Hospital with a diagnosis of septic shock who were sedated and mechanically ventilated were considered for inclusion. Patients were eligible if they needed a fluid challenge according to predefined clinical criteria: (1) hypotension (defined as a systolic arterial pressure ≤ 90 mmHg) and/or (2) tachycardia (i.e., ≥ 100 beats/min) and/or (3) urinary flow ≤ 0.5 mL/kg/min for 2 h. Those with significant valvular heart disease, cardiac arrhythmia, heart failure, peripheral arterial disease, or common carotid artery stenosis narrower than 50% were excluded from the study.