Employing radionuclide cineangiography and thermodilution cardiac outputs, we previously described a subpopulation of septic patients with a profound, reversible cardiac dysfunction, characterized by a decreased ejection fraction and ventricular dilatation. To confirm this finding, serial two-dimensional echocardiograms were performed on septic shock patients. Two-dimensional echocardiographic-determined ejection fraction and end diastolic volume index were found to correlate highly significantly with both radionuclide determined ejection fraction and end diastolic volume. Thus, echo confirms the radionuclide-determined cardiovascular dysfunction evident in a large subpopulation of patients with septic shock. Because two-dimensional echocardiography has no risk of radiation and no known side effects, it may potentially be more useful than radionuclide angiography as a method to evaluate left ventricular function and ventricular size in patients with septic shock.
