Sepsis and septic shock kill more than 270,000 patients in the United States each year and is the leading cause of death in hospitalized patients. More than 30 clinical trials have failed to improve mortality, highlighting the need for new therapies that address novel mechanisms in sepsis. Within hours of onset of sepsis, the systemic inflammatory response transitions from a hyperinflammatory to a persistent hypoinflammatory or low-grade proinflammatory phase, as well as an immunosuppressive phase, coexistent with multiorgan dysfunctions. Clinical alignment with these states is challenging, emphasizing the unmet need of biochemically relevant biomarkers, their kinetic value, and use of phase-specific therapeutics. This panel will discuss the changing immune response phenotype during sepsis progression and the need to identify phase specific therapeutic targets.
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the transition of the immune response as sepsis progresses from early proinflammatory to late proinflammatory and immunosuppressive phases
Explore the immune response during the late or chronic phase of sepsis
Identify immunological markers for potential identification of the sepsis phases
