Clinical prognostic markers in patients with severe sepsis: a prospective analysis of 139 consecutive cases.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the clinical characteristics and determine predictive factors of mortality in previously healthy individuals suffering from severe sepsis. METHODS: The study included 139 patients with severe sepsis, admitted to the Department of Medicine over a two years period. Data recorded on admission included demographic information, blood pressure, core temperature, white blood count, hepatic and renal function tests, coagulation factors, blood gases, serum lactic acid levels, simplified acute physiology score (SAPS-II) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). RESULTS: On admission, 62 patients were hypotensive, 52 had signs of diffuse intravascular coagulation (DIC), 72 had renal and 27 hepatic dysfunction. The overall mortality rate was 27.3%. Twenty-nine patients had septic shock on admission with a mortality rate of 62.07%. Hypoxemia, metabolic acidosis and the presence of DIC were more frequent in non-survivors, who also had significantly higher SAPS-II on admission and days 3 and 7. Independent factors associated with mortality were older age, septic shock, DIC and acute renal failure on admission, as well as SAPS-II at all time points and lactic acid levels on day 7. CONCLUSIONS: Septic patients with advanced age, septic shock, renal failure, DIC and metabolic acidosis on admission are at increased risk of mortality. The sustained presence of high SAPS-II and lactacidemia one week after admission are also important risk factors of poor outcome.

Cytokine production and hospital mortality in patients with sepsis-induced stress hyperglycemia.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether stress hyperglycemia affects the production of the main pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and the 28-day hospital mortality in patients with severe sepsis. METHODS: The study included 62 patients with severe sepsis, divided in three groups according to their glycemic profile within 24h after admission: patients with stress hyperglycemia (group SH, n=16), diabetes mellitus type II (group DM, n=27), and normal glucose levels (group NG, n=19). The serum levels of the cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-10 and TGFbeta-1 were measured within 24h after admission. RESULTS: A higher percentage of septic patients with stress hyperglycemia died compared to diabetic patients (43.7 vs. 14.8%) and group NG (43.7 vs. 5.2%). Group SH had higher SOFA score and levels of IL-6 and IL-10 than group DM and group NG. It also had higher levels of TNF-alpha than group DM but not group NG. There was no difference in the levels of TGFbeta-1 among the three groups. Non-survivors had higher levels of IL-10, no difference was detected for IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-10/TNF-alpha ratio and TGFbeta-1. Interleukin-10 values, mean fasting glucose values and age were found as prognostic factors associated with outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Stress hyperglycemia is associated with increased cytokine production and an adverse clinical outcome in patients with severe sepsis.