Application of dynamic pulse pressure and vasopressor tools for predicting outcomes in patients with sepsis in intensive care units

Purpose: We aimed to determine whether the combination of dynamic pulse pressure and vasopressor (DPV)use is applicable for mortality risk stratification in patients with severe sepsis. We proposed the use of the DPV tool and compared it with traditional sepsis severity indices. Materials and methods: All adult patients who met the sepsis criteria of the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3)between August 2013 and January 2017 were eligible for the study. Patients who expired within 3 days of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU)were excluded. The primary outcomes were 7-day and 28-day mortality. Results: The study participants included 757 consecutive adult patients. A subpopulation of 155 patients underwent immune profiling assays on days 1, 3, and 7 of ICU admission. The DPV tool had a better performance for predicting 7-day mortality (area under curve, AUC: 0.70), followed by the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA)(AUC: 0.64), the plus pulse pressure (AUC: 0.64). For predicting 28-day mortality, the DPV tool was not inferior to the SOFA (AUC: 0.61), DPV tool (AUC: 0.59). Conclusions: The DPV tool can be applied for 7-day and 28-day mortality risk prediction in patients with sepsis.