Management of septic shock in the pediatric emergency department in 2004

Capillary refill time and cardiac output in children undergoing cardiac catheterization

OBJECTIVE

Many pediatric healthcare providers believe that capillary refill time is a measure of perfusion and cardiac output in children. Despite its widespread use, there are no studies examining the relationship of capillary refill time to cardiac output in noncritically ill children. This study examined the inter-rater reliability of capillary refill time and its relationship to hemoglobin and with cardiac output in pediatric patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.

DESIGN

Prospective observational study.

SETTING

Tertiary care pediatric hospital.

PATIENTS

A total of 58 children, ages 0.3-17 yrs, with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiac catheterization.

INTERVENTIONS

Two clinicians performed two measurements of capillary refill time in a standardized fashion on 58 children undergoing cardiac catheterization. Cardiac output was determined by the Fick method within 15 mins of the first assessment of capillary refill time (time 1).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Capillary refill time and cardiac output measurements were obtained in 44 children, and 108 paired measurements of capillary refill time were obtained to assess inter-rater reliability. The mean capillary refill time was 1.2 secs (±0.5 secs), and the mean cardiac output was 3.6 L/min/m (2.2-5.7 L/min/m). The inter-rater intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.12 (time 1) (95% confidence interval -0.15 to +0.37) and was 0.32 (95% confidence interval 0.058-0.54) at the end of the catheterization (time 2). A significant association was noted between average capillary refill time at time 1 and hemoglobin, with higher hemoglobin correlating with longer capillary refill time (p = .015). There was no significant correlation between the average capillary refill time taken at the time of cardiac output measurement (time 1) and measured cardiac output (r = .331, 95% confidence interval for r, .066-.552).

CONCLUSIONS

We found that the inter-rater reliability of capillary refill time was poor and variable under controlled conditions and capillary refill time was not correlated with cardiac output in anesthetized nonacutely ill pediatric patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. Caution should be used in inferring cardiac output from capillary refill time measurements alone.

Early recognition and management of septic shock in children

Septic shock remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children, mainly due to acute hemodynamic compromise and multiple organ failures. In the last decade, international guidelines for the management of septic shock, as well as clinical practice parameters for hemodynamic support of pediatric patients, have been published. Early recognition and aggressive therapy of septic shock, by means of abundant fluid resuscitation, use of catecholamines and other adjuvant drugs, are widely considered of pivotal importance to improve the short and long-term outcome of these patients. The aim of this paper is to summarize the modern approach to septic shock in children, particularly in its very initial phase, when pediatric healthcare providers may be required to intervene in the pre-intensive care unit setting or just on admission in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Early recognition and treatment of shock in the pediatric patient

Pediatric cardiopulmonary arrest is frequently a terminal event of an unrecognized progressive shock state. This article describes predisposing factors and classifications of shock as they relate to pediatric patients. It assists the experienced pediatric nurse as well as the nurse who is less experienced in caring for children in identifying early shock in this population and provides practical advice on the assessment of children. In addition, management and intervention techniques are addressed.