Revue médicale suisse
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Revue médicale suisse · Dec 2010
Review[Pathophysiological mechanisms of organ dysfunction in sepsis].
Sepsis is defined as the systemic inflammatory response to an infection. The occurrence of organ dysfunction increases the severity of sepsis. ⋯ Although septic organ dysfunction has long been considered as the end result of chaotic, uncontrolled and deregulated inflammatory cascades, it might instead represent an adaptive response to avoid the occurrence of irreversible tissue damage and end-organ injury. In this article, we review the major mechanisms involved in organ dysfunction during sepsis, and also present the concept of organ dysfunction as an adaptive response to the septic process.