Optimizing left ventricular-arterial coupling during the initial resuscitation in septic shock – a pilot prospective randomized study

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular-arterial coupling (VAC), defined as the ratio of effective arterial elastance (Ea) to left ventricular end-systolic elastance (Ees), has been extensively described as a key determinant of cardiovascular work efficacy. Previous studies indicated that left ventricular-arterial uncoupling was associated with worse tissue perfusion and increased mortality in shock patients. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether a resuscitation algorithm based on optimizing left VAC during the initial resuscitation can improve prognosis in patients with septic shock. METHODS: This pilot study was conducted in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary teaching hospital in China. A total of 83 septic shock patients with left ventricular-arterial uncoupling (i.e., the Ea/Ees ratio ≥ 1.36) were randomly assigned to receive usual care (usual care group, n = 42) or an algorithm-based resuscitation that attempt to reduce the Ea/Ees ratio to 1 within the first 6 h after randomization (VAC-optimized group, n = 41). The left VAC was evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography every 2 h during the study period. The primary endpoint was 28-days mortality. The secondary endpoints included lactate clearance rate, length of ICU stay, and duration of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). RESULTS: Eighty-two patients (98.8%) completed the study and were included in the final analysis. The Ea/Ees ratio was reduced in both groups, and the decrease in Ea/Ees ratio in the VAC-optimized group was significantly greater than that in the usual care group [median (interquartile range), 0.39 (0.26, 0.45) vs. 0.1 (0.06, 0.22); P < 0.001]. Compared with the usual care group, the VAC-optimized group likely exhibited the potential to reduce the 28-days mortality (33% vs. 50%; log-rank hazard ratio = 0.526, 95% confidence interval: 0.268 to 1.033). Moreover, the VAC-optimized group had a higher lactate clearance rate than the usual care group [27.7 (11.9, 45.7) % vs. 18.3 (− 5.7, 32.1) %; P = 0.038]. No significant difference was observed in terms of the length of ICU stay or duration of IMV. CONCLUSIONS: During the initial resuscitation of septic shock, optimizing left ventricular-arterial coupling was associated with improved lactate clearance, while likely having a beneficial effect on prognosis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR1900024031. Registered 23 June 2019 - Retrospectively registered. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12871-021-01553-w.