Role of the tissue factor pathway in the pathogenesis and management of multiple organ failure.

Sepsis is caused by a dysregulated immune response to infection and, without intervention, can lead to septic shock and multiple organ failure. A leading cause of morbidity and mortality in intensive care units worldwide, severe sepsis is also associated with a considerable cost burden that places significant strain on global healthcare budgets. The development of an efficacious and cost-effective treatment strategy is therefore of vital importance to today's intensive care physicians.

Clinically practical blood volume assessment with fluorescein-labeled HES.

Background: Standard techniques for measuring blood volume (BV) entail administering radioactivity and human albumin. This is laborious, expensive, and impractical in acute settings. An alternative method suitable for widespread routine application was assessed.

Cardiovascular effects of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-methyl-L-arginine hydrochloride (546C88) in patients with septic shock: results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter study (study no. 144-002).

Objective: To assess the hemodynamic effects of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor 546C88 in patients with septic shock, although this was not a stated aim of the protocol. The predefined primary efficacy objective of the protocol was resolution of shock determined at the end of a 72-hr treatment period.

Design: Multicentered, randomized, placebo-controlled, safety and efficacy study.

Influence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sepsis on outcome of critically ill infected patients.

The clinical significance of the systemic inflammatory response in infected patients remains unclear. We examined risk factors for hospital mortality in 3,608 intensive care unit patients included in the European Sepsis Study. Patients were categorized as having infection without or with (i.