Hemodynamic responses to gram-positive versus gram-negative sepsis in critically ill patients with and without circulatory shock.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the hemodynamic patterns of critically ill patients with septicemia to evaluate their relationship to blood bacteriology.
DESIGN: Retrospective study.
SETTING: Medical ICUs of a tertiary care medical center. PATIENTS: Total of 59 critically ill patients with bacteremia: 33 with Gram-positive and 26 with Gram-negative bacteremia. MEASUREMENTS: Hemodynamic variables and mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) measurements associated with the highest cardiac index measured within 72 hrs of positive blood cultures. MAIN
RESULTS: No significant differences in cardiac index, mean arterial pressure, systemic vascular resistance, oxygen extraction ratio, or SvO2 were observed comparing the two groups.
CONCLUSION: We were unable to demonstrate clinically important differences between the hemodynamic responses to Gram-positive vs. Gram-negative sepsis.