LAUSR

High cut-off (HCO) continuous veno-venous hemodialysis (CVVHD) is one of the renal replacement therapies which nonselectively removes inflammatory mediators. This study seeks to examine the association between the inflammatory background and the need for catecholamine treatment in hemodynamically instable patients having septic shock and acute kidney injury during HCO-CVVHD. There were 38 patients (F/M; 16/22, mean age 63 ± 16 years) included in the study. The initial content of the cytokines IL-4, IL-12, IL-17, and TNFα, C-reactive protein, and the score of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) were assessed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plot showed that a combination consisting of IL-17 × SOFA ≤22.3 was a reliable predictive factor of the need for catecholamine treatment during HCO-CVVHD, with 82% sensitivity and 90% specificity, with the area under curve (AUC) of 0.843; p < 0.001. On the other side, SOFA ≤14.0 predicted catecholamine treatment or its discontinuation when started, with both specificity and sensitivity 83% (AUC = 0.899; p < 0.001). In conclusion, the immune system activation, assessed from the initial level of IL-17, and the clinical SOFA evaluation are of practical help in predicting the need for catecholamine treatment or the probability of a reduction thereof in patients on veno-venous hemodialysis due to septic shock.