Advances in Shock Management and Fluid Resuscitation in Children

Shock in children is associated with signifcant mortality and morbidity, particularly in resource-limited settings. The principles of management include early recognition, fuid resuscitation, appropriate inotropes, antibiotic therapy in sepsis, supportive therapy for organ dysfunction, and regular hemodynamic monitoring. During the past decade, each step has undergone several changes and evolved as evidence that has been translated into recommendations and practice. There is a paradigm shift from protocolized-based care to personalized management, from liberal strategies to restrictive strategies in terms of fuids, blood transfusion, ventilation, and antibiotics, and from clinical monitoring to multimodal monitoring using bedside technologies. However, uncertainties are still prevailing in terms of the volume of fuids, use of steroids, and use of extracorporeal and newer therapies while managing shock. These changes have been summarized along with evidence in this article with the aim of adopting an evidence-based approach while managing children with shock.

Relative Impact of the 2012 SSC Guideline Recommendations under the Scope of Numbers Needed to Treat (NNTs).

The surviving sepsis campaign (SSC) guidelines aimed to reduce mortality in severe sepsis and septic shock. The present study was performed to find out which and how many recommendations of the 2012 SSC update were based on significant effects from clinical studies in adult patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, leading to numbers needed to treat (NNTs). Every reference of the SSC 2012 guideline regarding clinical trials in adult patients was screened for absolute risk reduction regarding mortality to calculate NNTs. 17 relevant clinical trials out of 338 were identified. The NNTs ranged between 3.55 to 23.24. Significant reductions of mortality were detected, and items recommended in the SSC guidelines regarding early goal directed therapy (EGDT)/standard operating procedures (SOP)/sepsis bundles, early therapy with antibiotics, combined antibiotic therapy, and use of norepinephrine. Therapy with norepinephrine and the 6h bundles revealed the lowest NNTs. Significant reductions in mortality with restricted or no recommendations regarded therapy with hydrocortisone, therapy with highdose antithrombin III, and enteral feeding with eicosapentaenoic acid, gamma-linolenic acid and antioxidants. In conclusion, only a few recommendations of the 2012 SSC guidelines are based on significant beneficial effects coming from clinical trials in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. When transferring study results and NNTs, physicians should take into account the own setting and own subgroup of patients. If feasible, costs of additional treatment success may be quantified underlying NNTs.