Abstract:Objective To compare the efficacy of bedside ultrasound and pulse-indicated continuous cardiac output (PiCCO) monitoring in guiding fluid resuscitation in patients with septic shock.Methods A total of 30 patients with septic shock diagnosed and treated by the emergency ICU of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from December 2018 to May 2020 were included and randomly divided into an ultrasound group and a PiCCO group, with 15 cases in each group. The left ventricular end-diastolic volume and the left ventricular end-systolic volume were detected via bedside ultrasound and the stroke volume (SV) was calculated in the ultrasound group. The PiCCO group was monitored via PiCCO to detect the SV, and the correlation between the SV measured via ultrasound and that measured via the PiCCO was analyzed. The patients were regarded as fluid responsive or not according to whether SV increased by 10% or greater during the passive leg raise (PLR) test, and then the patients were subject to fluid resuscitation therapy, respectively. The 28-day mortality, length of ICU stay, and duration of mechanical ventilation were the primary outcome, while central venous pressure (CVP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), oxygenation index, lactate level, the amount of fluid resuscitation and urine volume measured at 6 and 12 h after treatment were the secondary outcomes. The efficacy of the two approaches for guiding early fluid resuscitation in patients with septic shock was compared.Results There was no significant difference in the 28-day mortality and length of hospital stay between the two groups (P > 0.05). The duration of mechanical ventilation in ultrasound group was shorter than that in PiCCO group (P < 0.05). The SV detected via bedside ultrasound was positively correlated with that determined by PiCCO (r = 0.983, P = 0.002). The MAP, CVP, oxygenation index and lactate level were measured before treatment, and 6 h and 12 h after the treatment in ultrasound group and PiCCO group. The repeated measures ANOVA showed that there were differences in MAP, CVP, oxygenation index and lactate level among time points (F =8.596, 7.485, 10.236, and 8.124, all P =0.000), while there was no difference in MAP, CVP, oxygenation index or lactate level between ultrasound group and PiCCO group (F =0.567, 0.639, 0.496 and 0.496, P =0.457, 0.532, 0.375 and 0.375). Besides, the change trends of MAP, CVP, oxygenation index and lactate level were also different between ultrasound group and PiCCO group (F =5.485, 4.125, 3.985 and 5.452, P =0.015, 0.023, 0.034 and 0.034). The amounts of fluid resuscitation at 6 h and 12 h after treatment in PiCCO group were lower than those in ultrasound group, whereas the urine volume in the PiCCO group was more than that in the ultrasound group (P < 0.05). In addition, the amount of fluid resuscitation and urine volume at 12 h after treatment were higher than those at 6 h after treatment in both ultrasound group and PiCCO group (P < 0.05).Conclusions The SV measured via bedside ultrasound is consistent with that determined via PiCCO. When applied for guiding early fluid resuscitation, there is no difference in the mortality and the length of hospital stay between the two approaches, yet bedside ultrasound contributes to the lower risk of pulmonary edema and a shorter duration of mechanical ventilation.