Immunological Parameters Associated with Sepsis Outcome

Impaired in vitro response to lipopolysaccharide during the early phase of sepsis and — in older patients — prolonged lymphopenia with loss of immunocompetent T cells were identified as mortality predictors.

Sepsis — a systemic inflammatory response to infection — is a leading cause of death in critically ill patients worldwide. Although biomarkers such as procalcitonin are commonly used to determine the extent of inflammation in sepsis, no good prognostic biomarkers have been described so far. Two research groups in Japan recently addressed this issue.

In a prospective, observational study involving 132 adults treated between September 2009 and November 2011 for sepsis (n=39), severe sepsis (n=38), or septic shock (n=55), Kiguchi and colleagues investigated the predictive value of maximal chemiluminescent intensity (CImax) in response to lipopolysaccharide. This value, which is indicative of oxidative-burst magnitude in polymorphonuclear leukoc…

Reviewing Author

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection