Statins in sepsis.

Sepsis is a common intensive care unit event occurring in approximately 750 000 patients annually, with a case mortality rate approaching 50%. Sepsis is characterized by a chaotic and excessive release of inflammatory cytokines and procoagulants including tumor necrosis factor, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-8, platelet-activating factor, and tissue factor. Efforts to inhibit individual cytokines in order to modify poor outcomes have been generally disappointing, suggesting the need to target multiple inflammatory mediators to obtain clinical benefit.