Early levels in blood of immunoglobulin M and natural killer cells predict outcome in nonseptic critically ill patients.

Purpose: Critical illness results in derangements of all components of the immune response. Nonetheless, most of the efforts evaluating immune status in critically ill patients have been done in the field of sepsis. Here we have evaluated the immunity status at intensive care unit (ICU) admission in a cohort of nonseptic critically ill patients and its influence on their outcome.

Critical COPD respiratory illness is linked to increased transcriptomic activity of neutrophil proteases genes.

Background: Gene expression profiling (GEP) in cells obtained from peripheral blood has shown that this is a very useful approach for biomarker discovery and for studying molecular pathogenesis of prevalent diseases. While there is limited literature available on gene expression markers associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), the transcriptomic picture associated with critical respiratory illness in this disease is not known at the present moment.

Findings: By using Agilent microarray chips, we have profiled gene expression signatures in the whole blood of 28 COPD patients hospitalized with different degrees of respiratory compromise.

Viral infection is associated with an increased proinflammatory response in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The development of new diagnostic methods based on molecular biology has led to evidence of the important role of respiratory viruses in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. Cytokines and chemokines are recognized as key actors in the pathogenesis of COPD. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between viral infection and host cytokine responses in 57 COPD patients hospitalized with an acute exacerbation.

A combined score of pro- and anti-inflammatory interleukins improves mortality prediction in severe sepsis.

Identification of patients at increased risk of death is dramatically important in severe sepsis. Cytokines have been widely assessed as potential biomarkers in this disease, but none of the cytokines studied has evidenced a sufficient specificity or sensitivity to be routinely employed in clinical practice. In this pilot study, we profiled 17 immune mediators in the plasma of 29 consecutively recruited patients with severe sepsis or septic shock, during the first 24h following admission to the ICU, by using a Bio-Plex Human Cytokine 17-Plex Panel (Bio-Rad).

Evolution of neutrophil apoptosis in septic shock survivors and nonsurvivors.

Purpose: The aims were to analyze the temporal evolution of neutrophil apoptosis, to determine the differences in neutrophil apoptosis among 28-day survivors and nonsurvivors, and to evaluate the use of neutrophil apoptosis as a predictor of mortality in patients with septic shock.

Materials And Methods: Prospective multicenter observational study carried out between July 2006 and June 2009. The staining solution study included 80 patients with septic shock and 25 healthy volunteers.

Early natural killer cell counts in blood predict mortality in severe sepsis.

Introduction: Host immunity should play a principal role in determining both the outcome and recovery of patients with sepsis that originated from a microbial infection. Quantification of the levels of key elements of the immune response could have a prognostic value in this disease.

Methods: In an attempt to evaluate the quantitative changes in the status of immunocompetence in severe sepsis over time and its potential influence on clinical outcome, we monitored the evolution of immunoglobulins (Igs) (IgG, IgA and IgM), complement factors (C3 and C4) and lymphocyte subsets (CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells (CD19+) and natural killer (NK) cells (CD3-CD16+CD56+)) in the blood of 50 patients with severe sepsis or septic shock at day 1, day 3 and day 10 following admission to the ICU.

Direct association between pharyngeal viral secretion and host cytokine response in severe pandemic influenza.

Background: Severe disease caused by 2009 pandemic influenza A/H1N1virus is characterized by the presence of hypercytokinemia. The origin of the exacerbated cytokine response is unclear. As observed previously, uncontrolled influenza virus replication could strongly influence cytokine production.

Host response cytokine signatures in viral and nonviral acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Viruses are strongly associated with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Interferon-inducible protein-10 has been recently described as a biomarker of human rhinovirus infection, but there are no reports on the role of other immune mediators in AECOPD of viral origin. As an attempt to evaluate the differences in the systemic immune mediators profiles between AECOPD patients with presence/absence of viral infection, we measured 27 cytokines, chemokines, and cellular growth factors in the plasma of 40 patients with AECOPD needing of hospitalization by using a Luminex-based assay.

Host adaptive immunity deficiency in severe pandemic influenza.

Introduction: Pandemic A/H1N1/2009 influenza causes severe lower respiratory complications in rare cases. The association between host immune responses and clinical outcome in severe cases is unknown.

Methods: We utilized gene expression, cytokine profiles and generation of antibody responses following hospitalization in 19 critically ill patients with primary pandemic A/H1N1/2009 influenza pneumonia for identifying host immune responses associated with clinical outcome.

Candiduria in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care medical units.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of candiduria in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care medical units (ICUs), to identify risk factors for candiduria and to assess the frequency distribution of different Candidaspp.

Subjects And Methods: This was a prospective cohort observational and multicenter study. A total of 1,765 patients older than 18 years of age who were admitted for at least 7 days to 73 medical-surgical ICUs of 70 Spanish hospitals were included in the study.