Polymyxin B and low-dose hydrocortisone treatment in a patient with uroseptic shock in a rural health unit

Abstract

Sepsis has a high mortality rate; thus, in the intensive care unit, early diagnosis and adjunctive treatments are crucial. However, generally, most patients with sepsis from rural area initially visit the emergency department at a rural hospital and are managed in general medical wards in Japan. Here we report on an 81-year-old Japanese female manifesting septic shock caused by the upper urinary tract infection of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli secondary to the left ureter obstruction by the urothelial carcinoma. Broad-spectrum antibiotics were administered. Although critical for the source control of infection, drainage of the ureteropelvic junction could not be performed immediately because of catecholamine-resistant hypotension. Hence, we administered polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column direct hemoperfusion, followed by low-dose hydrocortisone administration. After 8 hours of infusion, she recovered from the septic shock and successfully underwent emergency percutaneous nephrostomy. This presented strategy may provide a new resolution of catecholamine-resistant patients in urosepsis.