ORIGINAL ARTICLES
IMAJ | volume 25
Journal 11, November 2023
pages: 741-746
Vasopressors and Mean Arterial Pressure in Septic Shock: Do We Bend the Rules for Young Adults?
1 General Intensive Care Unit, Soroka University Medical Center, and The Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
2 Clinical Research Center, Soroka University Medical Center, and The Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
3 Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School, The Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
4 Department of Anesthesiology, Soroka University Medical Center, and The Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
5 Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
Summary
Background:
Younger patient age and relatively good prognosis have been described as factors that may increase caregiver motivation in treating patients with septic shock in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Objectives:
To examine whether clinical teams tended to achieve unnecessarily higher map arterial pressure (MAP) values in younger patients.
Methods:
We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study of patients presenting with septic shock who were treated with noradrenaline and hospitalized in a general ICU between 2006 and 2018. The patients were classified into four age groups: 18-45 (n=129), 46-60 (n=96), 61-75 (n=157), and older than 75 years (n=173). Adjusted linear mixed models and locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) curves were used to assess associations and potential non-linear relationships, respectively, of age group with MAP and noradrenaline dosage.
Results:
The cohort included 555 patients. An inverse relation was observed between average MAP value and age. Among patients aged 18–45 years, the average MAP was 4.7 mmHg higher (95% confidence interval 3.4–5.9) than among patients aged > 75 years (
P-value <0.001) after adjustment for sex, death in the intensive care unit, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores.
Conclusions:
Among patients with septic shock, the titration of noradrenaline by staff led to a higher average MAP for younger patients. Although the MAP target is equal for all age groups, staff may administer noradrenaline treatment according to a higher target of MAP due to attitudes toward patients of different ages, despite any evidence that such practice is beneficial.