Core to Skin Temperature Gradient in Septic Shock Patients and its Impact on Mortality: A Review

Abstract

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction resulting from a dysregulated host response to infection, consistentwith the Sepsis-5 consensus definition. Septic shock should be defined as a subtype of sepsis in which particularlysevere circulatory, cellular, and metabolic abnormalities are associated with a higher mortality risk than sepsisalone. Infection-induced release of bacterial toxins, inflammatory mediators, cytokines, and vasoactive substancesincreases capillary permeability and leads to extensive plasma leakage, resulting in insufficient effective circulatingblood volume and microcirculatory dysfunction., can cause electrolyte imbalances, acidosis, and other changes inthe internal environment. Septic shock is associated with alterations in peripheral blood flow, and core-to-skintemperature gradients depend on cutaneous blood flow and microcirculatory function. Infrared thermography isa non-invasive technique that uses an infrared camera to record the infrared radiation emitted by the body, fromwhich temperature is derived. We, therefore, hypothesized that high core-to-skin temperature gradients correlatewith septic shock and mortality.