Circulating biomarkers may be unable to detect infection at the early phase of sepsis in ICU patients: the CAPTAIN prospective multicenter cohort study.

Purpose: Sepsis and non-septic systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) are the same syndromes, differing by their cause, sepsis being secondary to microbial infection. Microbiological tests are not enough to detect infection early. While more than 50 biomarkers have been proposed to detect infection, none have been repeatedly validated.

Early High-Dose Erythropoietin Therapy After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Preliminary data suggested a clinical benefit in treating out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients with a high dose of erythropoietin (Epo) analogs.

Objectives: The authors aimed to evaluate the efficacy of epoetin alfa treatment on the outcome of OHCA patients in a phase 3 trial.

Methods: The authors performed a multicenter, single-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Tumor necrosis factor-α blockade in recurrent and disabling chronic sciatica associated with post-operative peridural lumbar fibrosis: results of a double-blind, placebo randomized controlled study.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibition with infliximab (IFX) in treating recurrent and disabling chronic sciatica pain associated with post-operative peridural lumbar fibrosis.

Method: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study randomized 35 patients presenting with sciatica pain associated with post-operative peridural lumbar fibrosis to two groups: IFX (n = 18), a single intravenous injection of 3 mg/kg IFX; and placebo (n = 17), a single saline serum injection. The primary outcome was a 50 % reduction in sciatica pain on a visual analog scale (VAS) at day 10.