Articles: sepsis.
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Acute renal failure (ARF) is often a component of multiple organ system failure in critically ill patients. Sepsis (i.e. systemic bacterial infection) is a major factor in the aetiology of ARF and this is primarily caused by sepsis-induced cardiovascular and pulmonary failure. ⋯ However, ARF in the course of sepsis or endotoxaemia may not be solely due systemic or renal haemodynamic changes, since humoral and cellular reactions may also have an adverse effect on renal function. This review will address the haemodynamic and non-haemodynamic factors and their interaction in the development of ARF during sepsis.
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Critical care medicine · Dec 1993
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialPrognostic value of the dobutamine test in patients with sepsis syndrome and normal lactate values: a prospective, multicenter study.
To determine the oxygen supply (DO2) and uptake (VO2) responses to a 60-min dobutamine infusion in critically ill septic patients without circulatory shock and with normal blood lactate concentrations. Also, to determine whether these responses would predict outcome. ⋯ Most of these septic patients without shock or hyperlactatemia responded to dobutamine infusion in one of two ways: with little increase in DO2 and no increase in VO2, or with significant increases in both DO2 and VO2. The latter response is typical of healthy volunteers given dobutamine. Because of the calorigenic effect of dobutamine, our results imply nothing about the presence or absence of oxygen supply limitation. Still, patients who had increases in DO2 and VO2 had a much higher survival rate than patients who did not. We speculate that the inability of some patients to respond to dobutamine and the associated higher mortality rate may be related to beta-adrenoreceptor dysfunction.
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Sepsis and septic shock are among the most frequent life-threatening infectious disease problems encountered in emergency medicine practice. This review summarizes the extensive research into the pathophysiology of sepsis, with emphasis on Gram-negative infection. ⋯ It also critically evaluates new preparations developed to blunt the actions of the exogenous and endogenous mediators responsible for the clinical manifestations comprising this syndrome. Clinical signs likely to be associated with Gram-negative infection are also reviewed, and guidelines are considered for the potential use of newly developed anti-endotoxin antibodies and other biological response modifiers in the treatment of patients with Gram-negative sepsis.
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Dec 1993
Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor prevents ethanol-induced impairment in host defense in septic rats.
Ethanol is a potent immunosuppressive agent that impairs neutrophil effector function. The purpose of this study was to determine whether granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), a cytokine that increases neutrophil number and functional activity, could prevent the ethanol-induced impairment of antibacterial host defense. Rats were injected with human recombinant G-CSF for 2 days. ⋯ In acutely intoxicated rats, leukocyte migration to the inflammatory site was impaired, and the number of viable bacteria isolated from the subcutaneous pocket was markedly increased. G-CSF prevented the sepsis-induced leukopenia, increased the influx of neutrophils in to the infection site, reduced the number of bacteria in the subcutaneous lavage fluid, and decreased the incidence of bacteremia in ethanol-treated rats when compared with rats not receiving G-CSF. These results demonstrate that G-CSF is a potent immunomodulator that stimulates neutrophil recruitment selectively to the site of infection and that can be used to ameliorate the ethanol-induced impairment in bacterial host defense.