Kinetics of capillary refill time after fluid challenge

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Hemodynamics
• Fluid Resuscitation

Background:

• Capillary refill time (CRT) is a key triage and resuscitation tool.
• Limited data exists on CRT changes following fluid administration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the intra-observer variability of CRT measurements.
• To investigate fingertip CRT kinetics during fluid resuscitation in sepsis patients.

Main Methods:

• Prospective observational study in a tertiary teaching hospital.
• Evaluated CRT reproducibility in 40 critically ill patients.
• Monitored fingertip CRT every 2 minutes for 30 minutes post-crystalloid infusion in 29 sepsis patients.

Main Results:

• Excellent CRT measurement reproducibility (ICC 99.5%).
• Significant CRT decrease observed 6-8 minutes after fluid infusion initiation in responders.
• Maximal CRT improvement occurred 10-12 minutes post-infusion, sustained for 30 minutes.

Conclusions:

• Fingertip CRT demonstrates rapid improvement during volume expansion in sepsis.
• CRT kinetics provide timely insights into fluid resuscitation effectiveness.