[The value of maximal rate of left ventricular pressure in evaluating cardiac function in patients with sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the value of maximal rate of left ventricular pressure (dp/dtmax) in evaluating the changes of cardiac function before and after heart rate reduction in patients with sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC).

METHODS

A single-center, prospective randomized controlled study was conducted. Adult patients with sepsis/septic shock admitted to the department of intensive care unit (ICU) of Tianjin Third Central Hospital from April 1, 2020 to February 28, 2022 were enrolled. Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) and pulse indication continuous cardiac output (PiCCO) monitoring were performed immediately after the completion of the 1 h-Bundle therapy. The patients with heart rate over 100 beats/minutes were selected and randomly divided into esmolol group and regular treatment group, 55 cases in each group. All patients underwent STE and PiCCO monitoring at 6, 24 and 48 hours after admission in ICU and calculated acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA). Primary outcome measure: change in dp/dtmax after reducing heart rate by esmolol. Secondary outcome measures: correlation between dp/dtmax and global longitudinal strain (GLS); changes of vasoactive drug dosage, oxygen delivery (DO), oxygen consumption (VO) and stroke volume (SV) after the administration of esmolol; proportion of heart rate reaching the target after the administration of esmolol; 28-day and 90-day mortality in two groups.

RESULTS

Baseline data on age, gender, body mass index, SOFA score, APACHE II score, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, lactic acid, 24-hour fluid balance, sepsis etiology and prior comorbidities were similar between esmolol group and regular treatment group, there were no significant differences between the two groups. All SIC patients achieved the target heart rate after 24 hours of esmolol treatment. Compared with regular treatment group, parameters reflecting myocardial contraction such as GLS, global ejection fraction (GEF) and dp/dtmax were significantly increased in esmolol group [GLS: (-12.55±4.61)% vs. (-10.73±4.82)%, GEF: (27.33±4.62)% vs. (24.18±5.35)%, dp/dtmax (mmHg/s): 1 312.1±312.4 vs. 1 140.9±301.0, all P < 0.05], and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) significantly decreased [μg/L: 1 364.52 (754.18, 2 389.17) vs. 3 508.85 (1 433.21, 6 988.12), P < 0.05], DO and SV were significantly increased [DO (mL×min×m): 647.69±100.89 vs. 610.31±78.56, SV (mL): 49.97±14.71 vs. 42.79±15.77, both P < 0.05]. The system vascular resistance index (SVRI) in esmolol group was significantly higher than that in regular treatment group (kPa×s×L: 287.71±66.32 vs. 251.17±78.21, P < 0.05), even when the dosage of norepinephrine was similar between the two groups. Pearson correlation analysis showed that dp/dtmax was negatively correlated with GLS in SIC patients at 24 hours and 48 hours after ICU admission (r values were -0.916 and -0.935, respectively, both P < 0.05). Although there was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between esmolol group and regular treatment group [30.9% (17/55) vs. 49.1% (27/55), χ = 3.788, P = 0.052], the rate of esmolol use in patients who died within 28 days was lower than that in patients who survived [38.6% (17/44) vs. 57.6% (38/66), χ = 3.788, P = 0.040]. In addition, esmolol has no effect on the 90-day mortality of patients. Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for SOFA score and DO factors, patients who used esmolol had a significantly lower risk of 28-day mortality compared with patients who did not use esmolol [odds ratio (OR) = 2.700, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.038-7.023, P = 0.042].

CONCLUSIONS

dp/dtmax in PiCCO parameter can be used as a bedside indicator to evaluate cardiac function in SIC patients due to its simplicity and ease of operation. Esmolol control of heart rate in SIC patients can improve cardiac function and reduce short-term mortality.