[Selective adsorption of endotoxin in the complex treatment of patients with severe sepsis].

Severe sepsis and septic shock remain the most serious problem of critical care medicine today with a mortality of 25-80%. Bacterial endotoxin is of considerable importance in the pathogenesis of sepsis. A selective hemosorbent in which endotoxin adsorption is accomplished via its binding to a synthetic peptide (LPS-A) has been recently designed in Sweden. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficiency of using the LPS-A in the complex treatment of patients with severe sepsis. Eight patients in whom the course of the underlying disease was complicated by the development of gram-negative sepsis in the postoperative period were examined. The patients had an APACHE II score of 20.4 +/- 4.5 LPS-A was performed using the hemosorbent Alteco LPS (Lund, Sweden) and an Aquarius hemoprocessor (Edwards Lifesciences) (U.S.A.). The use of LPS-A caused a significant reduction in endotoxin levels by 2.9 times. The level of procalcitonin was increased in all patients; after a LPS-A session, it was significantly decreased by 1.9 times. The use of LPS-A resulted in diminished tachycardia, elevated blood pressure and could reduce the doses of vasopressor amines. There was an improvement in lung gas exchange parameters. A study of the effect of LPS-A on the immune system showed a significant reduction (36.6%) in neutrophil oxygen-dependent metabolism according to the data of the spontaneous HCT test, a 2.4-fold decrease in large circulating immune complexes, and a rise in the count of mononuclear cells that died both by necrosis and apoptosis, the count of the cells significantly increased by 5.3 times in late apoptosis. A LPS-A session caused a significant drop in the blood level of endotoxin and procalcitonin and it was accompanied by a trend toward better hemodynamics and lung gas exchange and alleviated organ dysfunction. At the same time LPS-A showed the ambiguous effect on immune system parameters, which calls for further study.

[Inhibition effect of merthiolate used as vaccines preservative on the oxygen-dependent metabolism of neutrophil granulocytes]. / Effekt podavleniia kislorodzavisimogo matabolizma neitrofil'nykh granulotsitov mertiolatom, ispol'zuemym v kachestve konservanta vaktsin.

The influence of the newly developed complex vaccine Pyopol, containing the antigens of opportunistic microorganisms and polyoxydonium used as immunomodulator, on the oxygen-dependent metabolism of neutrophils was studied. The study revealed that the main components of the vaccine, both individually and in association, did not change cellular activity in the range of concentrations used in this study. The inhibition of the oxygen-dependent metabolism of neutrophil granulocytes in the presence of native or weakly diluted vaccine occurred due to the cytotoxic effect of thimerosal used as preservative.