Diastolic filling in human severe sepsis: An echocardiographic study

Objective: To determine if nonsurvivors have a more abnormal pattern of left ventricular relaxation than survivors with severe sepsis. Design: Prospective, observational, cohort study. Setting: Intensive care unit in a university-affiliated tertiary care hospital. Patients: Twenty-four adults with severe sepsis. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Baseline clinical and hemodynamic variables, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores and Doppler echocardiographic mitral inflow pattern (analyzed for normalized peak early filling rate [E/VTI, systolic volumes/sec], deceleration time [msec], and early to atrial filling velocity ratio [EIA]). There were seven deaths. The patients did not differ in baseline demographics, inotropic infusions, hemodynamic measurements or ventilatory settings or variables. Nonsurvivors had a more abnormal pattern of left ventricular relaxation (E/VTI, 4.7 [range 3.8 to 5.8] vs. 5.8 [range 3.8 to 8.9], p = .04; deceleration time, 235 [range 209 to 367] vs. 182 [range 155 to 255], p = .002). E/A showed a nonsignificant trend in the same direction (0.9 [range 0.8 to 1.6] vs. 1.2 [range 0.7 to 1.9], p = .12). In a multivariate analysis, deceleration time (p < .004) and APACHE II score (p < .02) were the only independent predictors of mortality. Conclusion: Severe sepsis nonsurvivors have a more abnormal echocardiographic pattern of left ventricular relaxation than survivors.