[Intensive treatment of septic shock]

In order to identify a septic shock syndrome, the Limulus test (positive results in 10 cases out of 12) is preferable to hemoculture (positive in 9 cases out of 22), as a valid tool for a precocious diagnosis and to support both the clinical diagnosis and the precocious case finding of the septic conditions. According to the Authors, as far as intensive treatment is concerned, the simultaneous finding of the central venous pressure (CVP) and the lung capillary (LC) allows an accurate evaluation of the rate of cardiac impairment and the alterations to the distribution of blood volume in connection with treatment. The Authors have also reported the data related to the clinical course of illness and mortality rate (68%) in 21 cases of septic shock, as well as the hemodynamic parameters with the pertinent correlations (CVP-PAP-Pcp and Da-v) in 12 patients affected by septic shock from the very beginning and throughout the whole period of treatment.