Chronological changes in the complement system in sepsis

The time courses of serum complement levels and the severity of sepsis were compared in two groups of septic patients, one in which the patients survived (surviving group) and one in which they did not (nonsurviving group). The components of the complement system, namely, C3a, C4a, C5a, CH50, C3, C4, and C5, were measured at several points in time after the diagnosis of sepsis had been established. A 2-antibody radioimmunoassay was used to measure C3a, C4a, and C5a; the latex agglutination test was used to measure C3 and C4; nephelometry was used to measure C5; and Meyer's 50% hemolysis method was used to measure CH50. Following the diagnosis of sepsis, the levels of CH50, C3, and C4 were significantly lower in the nonsurviving than the surviving group, while the levels of C3a and C4a were significantly higher in the nonsurviving than the surviving group. The C5a levels were significantly higher in the nonsurviving than the surviving group, although no significant intergroup differences were subsequently noted. These results suggest that the serum levels of C3a, C4a, C5a, CH50, C3, and C4 could serve as indices of the severity of sepsis. Thus, monitoring the complement system may be useful for predicting the outcome of patients with sepsis.     

Splanchnic ischaemia and its role in multiple organ failure

Multiple organ failure remains the leading cause of death in the intensive care unit. Increasing numbers of investigators have focused their attention on the role of gastrointestinal tract in the pathogenesis of this syndrome. Their data indicate that inadequate gut perfusion leads to a measurable imbalance between oxygen delivery and the needs of the tissues, i.e., ischaemia. Gut ischaemia of sufficient duration impairs gastrointestinal tract barrier function, facilitating the passage of enteric bacterial endotoxin into the circulation. It has been hypothesized that production of tumor necrosis factor α, and other biologic mediators by endotoxin–stimulated macrophages, triggers a generalized and uncontrolled inflammatory response that ultimately leads to multiple organ failure.
Preliminary evidence suggests that survival can be improved significantly if gut ischaemia is promptly identifed and aggressively treated by administration of fluids and inotropic drugs, using gastric intramucosal pH as the therapeutic endpoint. Future studies are needed to determine whether additional treatment modalities can improve outcome once the inflammatory response has fully developed.     

Management of abdominal sepsis

Introduction: Today the management of the different forms of peritonitis is generally standardised. The classification of primary and secondary peritonitis is well accepted. From a pathophysiological point of view, postoperative and post-traumatic peritonitis should be considered as independent entities. The bacteriological isolates from the inflamed peritoneal cavity do not correlate with the clinical course, and the occurrence of enterococci and bacteroides may be slightly related to ongoing infectious complications. Classification: Valuable scoring systems mainly rely on systemic signs of the septic disease and seem to better differentiate the prognosis of the disease than more surgically oriented scores do. Although the scoring systems did not allow any clinical decision, they should be used to help better compare patients treated in different institutions. The observation of the minor relevance of bacteriology and the superiority of general sepsis scores agrees with the fact that pre-existing septic organ dysfunction and pre-existing comorbidity are the main determinants of mortality. Treatment: Surgical therapy focuses on the control of the source of infection because it has been clearly shown that, without resolving the source of infection, the prognosis remains poor. Adjuvant surgical measures aim at the further reduction of the bacterial load in the peritoneal cavity. Planned relaparotomy, relaparotomy on demand, and continuous closed peritoneal lavage are used. Results: Clinical results proved these methods to be equally effective although pathophysiological considerations favour closed peritoneal lavage. Conclusion: Summarising the available data, we need a more sophisticated understanding of the pathophysiology of the peritonitis, and well-designed clinical studies are necessary to define the optimal surgical treatment modalities. Received: 27 November 1997     

左西孟旦与多巴酚丁胺及与米力农治疗脓毒症心肌损伤的有效性及安全性评价

目的 探讨左西孟旦与多巴酚丁胺、米力农治疗脓毒症心肌损伤的有效性及安全性。方法 选取脓毒症心肌损伤患者84例作为研究对象,按照随机数字表法分为左西孟旦组、多巴酚丁胺组、米力农组,各28例,对比总有效率、可溶性髓样细胞触发性受体1(soluble myeloid cell trigger receptor-1,sTREM-1)、可溶性白细胞分化抗原14(soluble cluster of differentiation antigen 14,sCD14)、可溶性白细胞分化抗原163(soluble cluster of differentiation antigen 163,sCD163)、心肌肌钙蛋白(cardiac troponin I,cTnI)、脑肽钠(brain natriupeptide, BNP)、左心室舒张末期容积指数(left ventricular end-diastolic volume index, LVEDVI)、左心室收缩末期容积指数(left ventricular end-systolic volume index, LVESVI)、左心室射血分数(le...     

Treatment of septic thrombocytopenia with immune globulin

Thrombocytopenia frequently complicates systemic infection and results from multiple possible mechanisms. We and others have demonstrated that platelet-associated IgG (PAIgG) levels are elevated in the majority of patients with septic thrombocytopenia. Corticosteroids may be undesirable as a treatment for thrombocytopenia for patients with severe infection because of their potential for suppressing the immune response. We hypothesized that septic thrombocytopenia is, in most cases, an immune disorder analogous to idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) which might respond to intravenous gamma-globulin as a treatment for increasing the platelet count in this disorder. Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), 400 mg/kg daily for 3 days, was administered in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Twenty-nine patients who developed thrombocytopenia during a documented, septic episode were studied. Patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), hypersplenism, or drugs known to cause thrombocytopenia were excluded. Elevated PAIgG levels were documented in 52% of evaluable patients. Mean platelet counts in the IVIG group rose from 43K at study entry to 178K (411% rise) by Day 9. In the placebo group platelets rose from 51K to 125K (261% rise;P = 0.02). Seventy-seven percent of the IVIG group had a minimum peak rise of 35K, vs 56% of the placebo group. Three patients in the placebo group had a serious bleeding episode, vs one in the IVIG group. The use of IVIG to treat septic thrombocytopenia not associated with DIC leads to a more rapid, more sustained, and greater increase in platelet count than placebo. Its use is recommended in the septic patient who is bleeding or is likely to need invasive or surgical procedures.     

Risk factors,clinical course and outcomes of pregnancy-related group A streptococcal infections: retrospective 13-year cohort study

Objectives

To investigate the incidence, risk factors, clinical course and outcomes of pregnancy-related group A streptococcus (GAS) infection.

A series of Infections due to Capnocytophaga spp. in immunosuppressed and immunocompetent patients

Objective  To investigate the epidemiology, microbiology and outcome of infections caused by Capnocytophaga spp. at a single center.
Methods  We report on ten documented infectious episodes caused by Capnocytophaga observed between 1994 and 1999 at the Innsbruck University Hospital.
Results  In seven of ten patients, Capnocytophaga septicemia was diagnosed during periods of neutropenia. In contrast, the remaining three patients had normal white blood cell counts when acquiring Capnocytophaga septicemia (one) and pleural empyema (two). Blood cultures containing long, slender, Gram-negative rods, which grew slowly under anaerobic conditions and lacked susceptibility to metronidazole, were subcultivated in a CO₂-enriched atmosphere (5%). Subcultivation yielded Capnocytophaga in all ten cases within 2–12 days. The patients were then placed on appropriate antibiotic therapy, with or without additional surgical intervention, and the organism was eradicated.
Conclusion  Identification of Capnocytophaga facilitates appropriate, and in most cases effective, antimicrobial therapy.     

Vital signs of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome in adult patients with acute infections presenting in out-of-hours primary care: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundSigns of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) – fever (or hypothermia), tachycardia and tachypnoea – are used in the hospital setting to identify patients with possible sepsis.ObjectivesTo determine how frequently abnormalities in the vital signs of SIRS are present in adult out-of-hours (OOH) primary care patients with suspected infections and assess the association with acute hospital referral.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study at the OOH GP cooperative in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, between August and October 2015. GPs were instructed to record the body temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate of all patients with suspected acute infections. Vital signs of SIRS, other relevant signs and symptoms, and referral state were extracted from the electronic registration system of the OOH GP cooperative retrospectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between clinical signs and hospital referral.ResultsA total of 558 patients with suspected infections were included. At least two SIRS vital signs were abnormal in 35/409 (8.6%) of the clinic consultations and 60/149 (40.3%) of the home visits. Referral rate increased from 13% when no SIRS vital sign was abnormal to 68% when all three SIRS vital signs were abnormal. Independent associations for referral were found for decreased oxygen saturation, hypotension and rapid illness progression, but not for individual SIRS vital signs.ConclusionAlthough patients with abnormal vital signs of SIRS were referred more often, decreased oxygen saturation, hypotension and rapid illness progression seem to be most important for GPs to guide further management.     

T淋巴细胞亚群及Th1/Th2细胞因子谱早期鉴别细菌尿源性脓毒症

目的探究尿源性脓毒症患者T淋巴细胞亚群及辅助性T细胞1(Th1)/Th2细胞亚群细胞因子谱水平变化及其对革兰阳性菌、革兰阴性菌的鉴别价值。方法选择2015年2月-2020年3月遵义医科大学附属医院收治的98例尿源性脓毒症患者、80例常规泌尿系统感染患者及100名查体的健康志愿者作为研究对象,分别纳入脓毒症组、局部感染组、对照组。对脓毒症组患者进行病原菌分析,检测T淋巴细胞亚群比例及白细胞介素-2(IL-2)、IL-4、IL-6、IL-10、肿瘤坏死因子(TNF-α)、干扰素-γ(IFN-γ)等细胞因子水平。结果入组脓毒症患者中,革兰阴性菌引起的尿源性脓毒症患者共53例(检出革兰阴性菌53株),以大肠埃希菌、肺炎克雷伯菌、铜绿假单胞菌为主;革兰阳性菌引起的尿源性脓毒症患者共45例(检出革兰阳性菌45株),以表皮葡萄球菌、粪肠球菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、溶血葡萄球菌为主。脓毒症组患者CD₃⁺T淋巴细胞亚群比例、CD₄⁺T淋巴细胞亚群比例、CD₄⁺/CD₈⁺分别为(59.84±7.41)%、(34.84±5.26)%、(1.42±0.65),低于局部感染组、对照组,而IL-2、IL-4、IL-6、IL-10、TNF-α、IFN-γ分别为2.69(0.98,16.23)pg/ml、2.49(0.74,22.74)pg/ml、88.41(10.24,188.52)pg/ml、25.63(1.74,74.15)pg/ml、3.25(1.01,16.96)pg/ml、7.11(1.22,15.63)pg/ml,高于局部感染组、对照组(P<0.05)。革兰阳性菌感染患者CD₃⁺、CD₄⁺、CD₄⁺/CD₈⁺分别为(64.15±4.71)%、(37.41±5.41)%、(1.53±0.34),高于革兰阴性菌感染患者,IL-6、IL-10、TNF-α分别为70.12(15.26,152.37)pg/ml、10.89(2.22,35.96)pg/ml、2.88(1.01,15.27)pg/ml,低于革兰阴性菌感染患者(P<0.05)。CD₃⁺、CD₄⁺、CD₄⁺/CD₈⁺、IL-6、IL-10等指标鉴别革兰阳性菌感染及革兰阴性菌感染的曲线下面积分别为0.651、0.681、0.656、0.769、0.758,当截点值为61.70%、35.10%、1.47、77.41 pg/ml、17.16 pg/ml时约登指数最大。结论尿源性脓毒症患者存在T细胞亚群及Th1/Th2细胞因子谱水平的失衡,且革兰阳性菌及革兰阴性菌脓毒症患者存在一定差异,临床可根据这些指标进行早期诊断及病原菌类型的鉴别。