“…33 Nonetheless, several studies have reported that there is no association between brain natriuretic peptides and subsequent mortality in patients with septic shock. 13,19,22,38,40,43,44 In regard to the secondary outcome of assessing cardiac function, many studies report an association between the levels of brain natriuretic peptides and various indices of myocardial dysfunction. 17,18,28,29,32,36,37,39,41,46,48,49 Septic shock appears to be a strong stimulus for the release of natriuretic peptides, and their levels have been used successfully to distinguish between septic and cardiogenic shock, 54,55 as well as septic and other kinds of shock, 56 although this was not confirmed by other researchers.…”