Pinder N, et al. - Among 20 patients with perioperative septic shock due to intra-abdominal infection, researchers tested the impact of physostigmine on recovery. They administered an initial dose of 0.04-mg/kg physostigmine salicylate, followed by continuous infusion of 1 mg/hour for 120 hours in the physostigmine group; in the placebo group, 0.9% sodium chloride was administered. During treatment and up to 14 days, the investigators assessed mean Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. Physostigmine salicylate was well tolerated among patients. The estimated mean SOFA scores for physostigmine and placebo groups were 8.9 ± 2.5 and 11.3 ± 3.6, respectively. Overall, it was safe and feasible to treat these patients with physostigmine salicylate.