Does amplification of bacterial DNA distinguish patients with ascitic fluid infection from those colonized by bacteria?
Although the 16S rRNA gene amplification was better than culture to diagnose SBP, bacterial DNA does not seem to allow a distinction between ascites infection and ascites colonization.
Vasopressin, in doses sufficient to replace the vasopressor norepinephrine, had mixed effects in septic shock patients. Hepatosplanchnic blood flow was preserved during substantial reduction in cardiac output. An increased gastric PCO2 gap suggests that the gut blood flow could have been redistributed to the disadvantage of the mucosa. Based on these limited data, it does not appear beneficial to directly replace norepinephrine with vasopressin in septic shock.