View clinical trials related to Severe Sepsis.
Filter by:The investigators hypothesize that doctors and nurses can undergo a brief period of training and then use ultrasound to accurately measure blood flow in a forearm artery after a brief period when this flow is interrupted with a blood pressure cuff, a measurement the investigators call reactive hyperemia. Reactive hyperemia indicates whether the small blood vessels in the body are healthy -- lower reactive hyperemia indicates worse small blood vessel function. When measured by experienced ultrasound experts, low reactive hyperemia strongly predicts death in critically ill patients with infection (severe sepsis). The investigators are conducting this study to determine if doctors and nurses, without specific pre-existing expertise in ultrasound, can be trained to make these measurements accurately. If so, the investigators will prove that these measurements can be applied reliably in real-world practice. The investigators also hypothesize that reactive hyperemia predict the outcomes of illness not just in patients with severe infection, but in other critically ill patients as well. Finally, the investigators hypothesize that reduced blood flow after blood pressure cuff occlusion is linked with other abnormalities of blood, previously identified in critically ill patients. For example, red blood cells from patients with severe sepsis have been shown to be stiffer than normal, so they are less able to flow along the small blood vessel passages of the body. Red blood cells become stiffer when there is a certain type of stress in the body known as "oxidative stress." If the investigators show that low reactive hyperemia, stiff red blood cells, and oxidative stress are linked, the investigators hope to develop new treatments that reduce oxidative stress, reduce the stiffness of red blood cells, and in turn improve reactive hyperemia. Improvements in reactive hyperemia indicate improvements in small blood vessel function. Better small blood vessel function means better delivery of oxygen throughout the body. The investigators believe that this will improve outcomes for critically ill patients.
A hospitals manual method of patient monitoring will be implemented in an automated system and supported by an early patient deterioration detection for timely escalation. The purpose of this study is to assess if clinical outcomes of patients in Acute Care are significantly improved by such a system.
This study is a randomized control trial assessing the impact of a simple evidence-based protocol for the treatment severe sepsis with hypotension in Zambia. This is a follow-up study to the Simplified Severe Sepsis Protocol (SSSP) study. The intervention protocol consists of a scheduled fluid regimen, early blood culture and antibiotics, and dopamine and blood transfusion when necessary. It is hypothesized that the protocol will significantly decrease in-hospital mortality in patients with severe sepsis and hypotension.
The occurrence of sepsis and its relevant multiple organ dysfunction remain a major problem in intensive care units with high morbidity and mortality. The differentiation between non-infectious and infectious etiologies, severity and organ function evaluation, and prognostic assessment are all challenging in routine clinical practice. Many biomarkers have been suggested for these purpose; however sensitivity and specificity even of high-ranking biomarkers still remain insufficient. Recently, metabolic profiling has attracted interest for biomarker discovery. In this study, LC-MS/MS will be perform to identify serum metabolic biomarkers for differentiation of SIRS/sepsis, severity and organ function evaluation, and prognostic assessment among 65 patients. The investigators enrolled 35 patients who were diagnosed with sepsis, 15 patients who were diagnosed with SIRS, and 15 normal patients. Moreover, the sepsis were further divided into sepsis, severe sepsis, and sepsis patients before death. Small metabolites that were present in patient serum samples were measured by LC-MS/MS techniques and analyzed using multivariate statistical methods, such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), and Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis. Based on the multivariate statistical analysis above, the investigators could distinguish sepsis from normal and SIRS; distinguish the difference among sepsis, severe sepsis and death. We hypothesis that some metabolites as identified in this study are promising biomarker candidates in the field of sepsis diagnosis and treatment.
Rational: Severe sepsis is one of the leading cause of mortality in intensive care unit patients. Early initiation of an appropriate empirical antimicrobial therapy is associated with improved outcomes. In order to avoid an increase of selection pressure and the emergence of multidrug resistant pathogens, guidelines recommend to streamline the antimicrobial therapy after the identification of the pathogen responsible for infection. This strategy has been evaluated in several observational studies. However, at the bedside, few randomized clinical trials tested this strategy prospectively. Method: the investigators conduct a randomized clinical trial comparing a strategy based on de-escalation (streamlining of the empirical antimicrobial therapy) and a conservative strategy (continuation of the empirical antimicrobial therapy). The investigators first aim was to show that a strategy based on de-escalation is not inferior to a conservative strategy in terms of intensive care unit length of stay. Secondary aims are to compare the rate of mortality rate, the emergence of multidrug resistant pathogens, and the feasibility of de-escalation. The study is performed in nine intensive care units from four institutions, and 120 patients are required to validate the investigators hypothesis. New technologies for the rapid diagnosis of severe infections are investigated in an ancillary study.
The purpose of the study is to evaluate if ART-123 given to patients who have severe sepsis can decrease mortality.
The role of complement system in bridging innate and adaptive immunity has been confirmed in various invasive pathogens. The aim of this study is to investigate the alteration of complement C3 in patients with severe abdominal sepsis and evaluate the role of complement C3 depletion in prognosis of such patients. The relationship between complement C3 depletion and adaptive immunity is studied meanwhile.
This study aims to assess the effect of acute inflammation on arterial stiffness and microcirculation. Patients with severe sepsis will be compared with age-, sex- and cardiovascular risk factors-matched controls. The primary outcome is the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity. The other outcome measures are: systemic hemodynamics (systolic, diastolic, mean and pulse blood pressures, heart rate, cardiac output, left ventricular ejection fraction, systemic vascular resistances), central hemodynamics (aortic systolic, diastolic, mean and pulse pressures, and augmentation index), thenar tissue oxygen saturation, biological makers of inflammation (plasma fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, matrix metalloproteinases -2, -9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1), and plasma catecholamine concentrations (epinephrine, norepinephrine).
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between a procalcitonin decrease over 72 hours and outcome in patients who have severe sepsis or septic shock.
This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 study to evaluate biochemical, clinical, and safety effects of 2 doses of intravenous L-citrulline compared to placebo in patients with severe sepsis at risk for or with acute lung injury. The hypothesis is that intravenous L-citrulline will decreased the development or progression of acute lung injury in patients with severe sepsis compared to placebo.