A stratification strategy to predict secondary infection in critical illness-induced immune dysfunction: the REALIST score.

Background: Although multiple individual immune parameters have been demonstrated to predict the occurrence of secondary infection after critical illness, significant questions remain with regards to the selection, timing and clinical utility of such immune monitoring tests.

Research Question: As a sub-study of the REALISM study, the REALIST score was developed as a pragmatic approach to help clinicians better identify and stratify patients at high risk for secondary infection, using a simple set of relatively available and technically robust biomarkers.

Study Design And Methods: This is a sub-study of a single-centre prospective cohort study of immune profiling in critically ill adults admitted after severe trauma, major surgery or sepsis/septic shock.