Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Comparative Study
The clinical and functional relevance of microparticles induced by activated protein C treatment in sepsis.
Activated protein C (APC) induces release of microparticles (MP) from primary physiological cells, which are found in patients undergoing treatment with recombinant human APC (rhAPC) for severe sepsis. We hypothesised that APC on these circulating MPs activate endothelial protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) to induce anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory properties that can improve patient outcome. ⋯ rhAPC treatment in patients with sepsis significantly increases circulating EPCR + MPs. These MPs were noted to express APC, which has specific anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects, with a non-significant correlative trend towards survival. This suggests that MPs could disseminate APC function and activate endothelial PAR1 at distal vascular sites.
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We explored the diagnostic value of a urine soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) for early sepsis identification, severity and prognosis assessment, and for secondary acute kidney injury (AKI). We compared this with white blood cell (WBC) counts, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), serum procalcitonin (PCT), urine output, creatinine clearance (CCr), serum creatinine (SCr), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). ⋯ Besides being non-invasive, urine sTREM-1 testing is more sensitive than testing WBC, serum CRP, and serum PCT for the early diagnosis of sepsis, as well as for dynamic assessments of severity and prognosis. It can also provide an early warning of possible secondary AKI in sepsis patients.
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Deregulated or excessive host immune responses contribute to the pathogenesis of sepsis. Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways and their negative regulators play a pivotal role in the modulation of host immune responses and the development of sepsis. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of variants in the TLR signaling pathway genes and their negative regulator genes with susceptibility to sepsis in the Chinese Han population. ⋯ Our findings indicated that the variants in TOLLIP were significantly associated with sepsis susceptibility in the Chinese Han population.
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Evidence for the impact of prehospital, physician-delivered advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) on survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is conflicting. The prospective observational study by Yasunaga and co-workers demonstrates an improved survival at 1 month associated with prehospital physician-delivered ACLS over emergency life-saving technician-delivered ACLS. These effects are additive to the survival benefit seen with bystander-initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR) compared with no BCPR. The present commentary places these findings in the context of the existing literature and discusses some of the unresolved controversies.