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Figure 3 | Critical Care

Figure 3

From: Hemodynamic coherence and the rationale for monitoring the microcirculation

Figure 3

Microcirculatory-guided fluid therapy. To optimize the oxygen-carrying capacity of the microcirculation, optimization is required of the convective (sufficient flow) and diffusive capacity (optimal FCD to have short diffusion distances between the oxygen-carrying RBCs and the tissue cells). Observation of sublingual microcirculation using hand-held microscopy in states of hypovolemia identifies low convective flow (left), indicating the need for fluid administration. Microcirculatory fluid responsiveness indicates the success of fluid therapy by showing enhanced convective RBC flow. A reduction in FCD signals the occurrence of a type 2 microcirculatory alteration (right) and this indicates that too much fluid has been administered, causing increased diffusion distance between the RBCs and tissue cells reducing the oxygen transport capacity of the microcirculation. This approach provides a personalized physiological-based patient-centered fluid resuscitation strategy to optimize the oxygen-carrying capacity of the microcirculation. Adapted from [89].

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