Coupled plasma filtration adsorption in experimental peritonitis-induced septic shock.

The coupled plasma filtration adsorption (CPFA) was developed as an adsorptive hemopurification method aimed at nonselective removal of circulating soluble mediators potentially involved in the pathogenesis of sepsis. We hypothesized that this nonselective hemopurification could protect from detrimental consequences of long-term, volume-resuscitated porcine septic shock. In 16 anesthetized, mechanically ventilated, and instrumented pigs, the hyperdynamic septic shock secondary to peritonitis was induced by intraperitoneally inoculating feces and maintained for 22 h with fluid resuscitation and norepinephrine infusion as needed to maintain MAP above 65 mmHg. After 12 h of peritonitis, animals were randomized to receive either supportive treatment (control, n = 8) or CPFA treatment (CPFA, n = 8). Systemic, hepatosplanchnic, and renal hemodynamics; oxygen exchange; energy metabolism (lactate/pyruvate and ketone body ratios); ileal mucosal and renal cortex microcirculation; systemic inflammation (TNF-alpha, IL-6); nitrosative/oxidative stress (thiobarbituric acid reactive species, nitrates + nitrites); and endothelial/coagulation dysfunction (asymmetric dimethylarginine, von Willebrand factor, thrombin-antithrombin complexes, platelet count) were assessed before and 12, 18, and 22 h of peritonitis. Coupled plasma filtration adsorption neither delayed the development of hypotension nor reduced the dose of norepinephrine. The treatment failed to attenuate sepsis-induced alterations in microcirculation, surrogate markers of cellular energetics, endothelial injury, and systemic inflammation. Similarly, CPFA did not protect from lung and liver dysfunction and even aggravated sepsis-induced disturbances in coagulation and oxidative/nitrosative stress. In this porcine model of septic shock, the early treatment with CPFA was not capable of reversing the sepsis-induced disturbances in various biological pathways and organ systems. Both the efficacy and safety of this method require further rigorous experimental validation in clinically relevant models.