Background: To evaluate whether the use of norepinephrine during the management of patients with sepsis affects the perfusion index (PI) and patient outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively studied patients with septic shock between January 2014 and December 2018 who had undergone Pulse index Continuous Cardiac Output-Plus cardiac output monitoring and received norepinephrine during the management. We collected data regarding basic clinical characteristics. Hemodynamic parameters, including lactate, PI, and norepinephrine dose at T0 and 24 h after Pulse index Continuous Cardiac Output catheterization (T24) were obtained. Results: The PI of the nonsurvivor group (n = 44) was significantly lower than that of the survivor group (n = 144) at T24, and the lactate level of the nonsurvivor group was significantly higher than that of the survivor group. The multiple logistic regression analysis suggested that the norepinephrine dose and PI were the most independent risk and protective factors, respectively, for intensive care unit mortality. The area under the curve for a poor prognosis was 0.847 (95% confidence interval, 0.782-0.912). The optimal cutoff value of the PI at T24 to predict intensive care unit mortality was 0.6, with a sensitivity of 77.1% and a specificity of 80%. Based on this optimal cutoff value, we divided patients into groups with PI ≥ 0.6 (n = 125) and PI < 0.6 (n = 59). The lactate level of the PI < 0.6 group was higher than that of the PI ≥ 0.6 group at T24. The PI < 0.6 group showed a significantly higher sublingual dose of norepinephrine indicators than the PI ≥ 0.6 group. The PI showed a strong negative correlation with norepinephrine dose (r = -0.344, P < .001) and lactate (r = -0.291, P < .001). Conclusions: A higher PI is a protective factor, and a higher dose of norepinephrine is a risk factor for the prognosis of critically ill patients with septic shock. A lower PI was associated with a higher dose of norepinephrine.
Keywords: norepinephrine; perfusion; prognosis; sepsis.