title: Is It Time to Beta Block the Septic Patient?
abstract: Beta blockers are some of the most studied drugs in the pharmacopoeia. They are already widely used in medicine for treating hypertension, chronic heart failure, tachyarrhythmias, and tremor. Whilst their use in the immediate perioperative patient has been questioned, the use of esmolol in the patients with established septic shock has been recently reported to have favourable outcomes. In this paper, we review the role of the adrenergic system in sepsis and the evidence for the use of beta stimulation and beta blockers from animal models to critically ill patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Mindelsohn Way, Birmingham B15 2GW, UK.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pemberton
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Mindelsohn Way, Birmingham B15 2GW, UK ; Department of Infection and Inflammation, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK ; Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, The Old Schools, Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK.
authors.forename: Tonny
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Veenith
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Mindelsohn Way, Birmingham B15 2GW, UK.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Snelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Mindelsohn Way, Birmingham B15 2GW, UK ; College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Whitehouse
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D016638:Critical Illness; D006801:Humans; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists