Severe sepsis is defined by organ failure, often of the kidneys, heart, and brain. It has been
proposed that inadequate delivery of oxygen, or insufficient extraction of oxygen in tissue …

Purpose To discuss the techniques currently available to evaluate the microcirculation in
critically ill patients. In addition, the most clinically relevant microcirculatory alterations will …

Objectives: Sepsis induces microvascular alterations that may play an important role in the
development of organ dysfunction. However, the relationship of these alterations to systemic …

Sepsis is the number one cause of death among critically ill patients and accounts for more
than 215,000 deaths every year in the United States alone. 1, 2 Randomized controlled trials …

Shock, defined at a cellular level, is a condition in which oxygen delivery to the cells is not
sufficient to sustain cellular activity and support organ function. The central role of …

The rises in tissue partial pressure of carbon dioxide have been observed in critically ill
patients with shock and sepsis for a long time and have been proposed to be an earlier and …

Multiple experimental and human trials have shown that microcirculatory alterations are
frequent in sepsis. In this review, we discuss the characteristics of these alterations, the …

The ultimate goals of hemodynamic therapy in sepsis are to restore effective tissue perfusion
and to maintain cellular metabolism. Fluid resuscitation is the first step in management of …

This review examines experimental evidence that the microvascular dysfunction that occurs
early in sepsis is the critical first stage in tissue hypoxia and organ failure. A functional …

Objective To review optical spectroscopic techniques for assessment of the determinants of
tissue oxygenation and to evaluate the notion that the disturbances in oxygen pathways in …