Impact of increased mean arterial pressure on skin microcirculatory oxygenation in vasopressor-requiring septic patients: an interventional study

Abstract Background Heterogeneity of microvascular blood flow leading to tissue hypoxia is a common finding in patients with septic shock. It may be related to suboptimal systemic perfusion pressure and lead to organ failure. Mapping of skin microcirculatory oxygen saturation and relative hemoglobin concentration using hyperspectral imaging allows to identify heterogeneity of perfusion and perform targeted measurement of oxygenation. We hypothesized that increasing mean arterial pressure would result in improved oxygenation in areas of the skin with most microvascular blood pooling. Methods We included adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit within the previous 24 h with sepsis a…