L-carnitine Treatment for Vasopressor Dependent Septic Shock

More humans die in the intensive care unit from sepsis than from any other cause. Death from sepsis is the culmination of widespread hypoperfusion, cellular hypoxia, and multiple organ failure. A growing body of evidence shows that early therapeutic intervention improves outcome for patients with sepsis. Novel targeted strategies that bolster a strong and durable systemic hemodynamic response have been proven to reduce or even reverse organ dysfunction in patients with sepsis. L-carnitine provides the key elements of a novel therapy to ameliorate the adverse hemodynamic effects of sepsis. The overall goal of this proposal is to investigate L-carnitine as a novel adjunctive treatment of septic shock; specifically to test the clinical efficacy of L-carnitine on reducing organ failure, a critical patient oriented outcome, and provide evidence as to whether stimulation of carbohydrate oxidation creates host resilience to severe sepsis.