Oxygen delivery and utilization in sepsis

Oxygen delivery and utilization is deranged in the setting of sepsis. The most likely cause is an inability of the microvasculature to provide sufficient oxygen to actively metabolize tissue, probably as a result of diminished autoregulatory control and capillary damage. This maldistribution of blood flow results in the development of pathological supply dependency of TO2, which correlates with the development of multiorgan failure and a high mortality. The ability to monitor the adequacy of tissue O2 delivery is limited by technological limitations and evidence that we can increase tissue O2 delivery either by improving TO2 or altering microcirculatory functioning is not yet available.