Issue
In cases of septic shock (severe infection), cardiogenic shock (cardiac failure), or hypovolemic shock (hemorrhaging or severe diarrhea in a child), the microcirculation is altered and tissue perfusion is compromised. The severity of the microcirculatory condition is an indicator for the prognosis.
All these pathologies can result in the death of the patient, especially if they are not treated quickly. An impaired microcirculation is associated with an increased risk of death or complications.
Measuring CRT to diagnose microcirculation impairment and to monitor the changes non-invasively. Currently CRT is eyeballed by the clinician. Hence, CRT reamains imprecise, subjective, difficult to replicate, and can only be interpreted qualitatively (normal or altered). This results in a lack of confidence in manual measurement which is thus not taken into account in around ¼ of cases.
This also makes it difficult to give information on the effect of a specific therapy.
Poor clinical evaluation of CRT can delay diagnosis of a serious condition or delay the implementation of a suitable therapy.