ObjectiveTo investigate the potential role and mechanism of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in regulating arterial baroreflex (ABR) in septic rats. MethodsThe rat model of cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) induced sepsis was established. Fortyseven male SpargueDawley rats were randomly divided into 9 groups: ① Sham operation (SO)+0.9% NaCl (NS) intravenous injection (i.v.) group; ② SO+NaHS i.v. group; ③ CLP+NaHS i.v. group; ④ SO+artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) bilater nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) microinjection group; ⑤ SO+NaHS bilater NTS microinjection group; ⑥ SO+vehicle (DMSO)+NaHS group; ⑦ SO+Gli+NaHS group; ⑧ CLP+vehicle (DMSO) group; ⑨ CLP+Gli group. The ABR function was measured before administration and 5 min and 30 min after administration. Results① The ABR value of rats at different time in the same group: Compared with the ABR value before administration in the SO+NaHS i.v. group, CLP+NaHS i.v. group, SO+NaHS bilater NTS microinjection group, and SO+vehicle+NaHS group, the ABR values of rats significantly decreased at 5 min and 30 min after administration (Plt;0.05, Plt;0.01), which significantly increased in the CLP+Gli group at 5 min and 30 min after administration (Plt;0.05). ② The ABR value of rats at the same time in the different groups: Before administration, the ABR value of rat in the CLP+NaHS i.v. group was significantly lower than that in the SO+NS i.v. group or SO+NaHS i.v.group (Plt;0.05). At 5 min and 30 min after adminis tration, the ABR value of rat in the CLP+NaHS i.v. group was significantly lower than that in the SO+NS i.v. group or SO+NaHS i.v. group (Plt;0.05), which in the SO+NaHS i.v. group or SO+NaHS bilater NTS microinjection group was significantly lower than that in the SO+NS i.v. group or SO+aCSF bilater NTS microinjection group, respectively (Plt;0.05, Plt;0.01), in the SO+Gli+NaHS group or CLP+Gli group was significantly higher than that in the SO+vehicle+NaHS group or CLP+vehicle group, respectively (Plt;0.05). ConclusionsH2S plays an adverse role in septic ABR function, and opening KATP channel located at the pathway of ABR, may be the mechanism involved in the downregulation of ABR function in septic rat. Notably, the NTS may be also responsible for reduction of ABR value.
Objective To explore independent risk factors for 30-day mortality in critical patients with pulmonary infection and sepsis, and build a prediction model. Methods Patients diagnosed with pulmonary infection and sepsis in the MIMIC-Ⅲ database were analyzed. The CareVue database was the training cohort (n=934), and the Metavision database was the external validation cohort (n=687). A COX proportional hazards regression model was established to screen independent risk factors and draw a nomogram. We conducted internal cross-validation and external validation of the model. Using the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve, Calibration chart, and decision curve analysis, we detected the discrimination, calibration, and benefit of the model respectively, comparing with the SOFA scoring model. Results Age, SOFA score, white blood cell count≤4×109/L, neutrophilic granulocyte percentage (NEU%)>85%, platelet count (PLT)≤100×109/L, PLT>300×109/L, red cell distribution width >15%, blood urea nitrogen, and lactate dehydrogenase were independent risk factors. The areas under the ROC curve of the model were 0.747 (training cohort) and 0.708 (external validation cohort), respectively, which was superior to the SOFA scoring model in terms of discrimination, calibration, and benefit. Conclusion The model established in this study can accurately and effectively predict the risk of the disease mortality, and provide a visual assessment method for early identification of high-risk patients.
Objective To investigate the clinical value of peripheral serum cell-free DNA/neutrophil extracellular traps (cf-DNA/NETs) level in diagnosis and severity assessment of sepsis patients. Methods Forty patients with sepsis and 40 patients with non-infectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (nf-SIRS) were enrolled in this study. The cf-DNA/NETs level in serum of all subjects were measured. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic ability of the cf-DNA/NETs, white blood cell count (WBC), procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The sepsis patients were stratified into a survival group and a death group according to the prognosis. Sequential organ failure (SOFA) score were recorded in the sepsis patients, and the correlations between SOFA and cf-DNA/NETs, PCT, WBC, IL-6 were analyzed. Results Compared with the nf-SIRS group, cf-DNA/NETs and PCT levels were significantly higher in the sepsis group (both P<0.05). WBC and IL-6 showed no significant differences between the two groups (bothP>0.05). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of cf-DNA/NETs was 0.884 for diagnosis of sepsis, and it was higher than the AUC of PCT (0.803). The cf-DNA/NETs showed better sensitivity (81.2% and 79.2%) and specificity (81.0% and 82.4%) than PCT. cf-DNA/NETs and PCT were significantly higher in the death group than those in the survival group. Bivariate collection analysis revealed positive correlations between SOFA score and the two biomarkers of cf-DNA/NETs and PCT (r1=0.573, r2=0.518; both P<0.01). Conclusions cf-DNA/NETs and PCT have certain value in early diagnosis of sepsis, and cf-DNA/NETs shows better diagnostic value in distinguishing sepsis from nf-SIRS than PCT. cf-DNA/NETs can be used as a routine monitoring index to help assess disease severity in sepsis.
Objective To evaluate the predicting effect of quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) on septic shock, and investigate the probability of improving the predicting effect. Methods Patients with sepsis diagnosed in Emergency Department from July 2015 to June 2016 were enrolled. They were divided into shock group and non-shock group based on whether or not they had septic shock during 72 hours after admission. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to find out the independent risk factors affecting the incidence of septic shock. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze those risk factors. Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS), Mortality in Emergency Department Sepsis Score (MEDS), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), Acute Physiology and Chronic HealthEvaluation (APACHE)Ⅱ and qSOFA were also compared with ROC curve analysis. The possibility of improvement of qSOFA predicting effect was discussed. Results A total of 821 patients were enrolled, with 108 in septic shock group and 713 in non-septic shock. The result of multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure, pH value, oxygenation index, lactate, albumin, Glasgow Coma Score and procalcitonin were the independent risk factors (P<0.05). The result of ROC analysis showed that the area under curve (AUC) of pH value, lactate and procalcitonin was 0.695, 0.678 and 0.694, respectively. Lactate had the highest value of specificity (0.868), positive predictive value (0.356) and positive likelihood ratio (3.644), while the sensitivity (0.889) and negative predictive value (0.961) of procalcitonin were the highest. MEWS, MEDS, SOFA, APACHEⅡ and qSOFA were compared with ROC. SOFA had the best predicting effect with the statistical results of AUC (0.833), sensitivity (0.835), specificity (0.435), positive predictive value (0.971), negative predictive value (0.971), and positive likelihood ratio (5.048); and MEWS had the highest negative likelihood ratio (0.581). qSOFA did not show a best predicting value. Conclusion qSOFA is not the best choice to predict the possibility of septic shock, but its predicting value might be improved when combined with pH value, lactate and procalcitonin.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the prognostic value of plasma soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) level in predicting 28-day mortality in sepsis.MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect studies about the prognostic value of plasma sTREM-1 in early 28-day mortality in sepsis from inception to April 16th, 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 14.0 software.ResultsA total of 13 studies involving 1 115 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the sensitivity and specificity were 79% and 77%, respectively. The positive likelihood ratio and the negative likelihood ratio were 3.4 and 0.28, respectively. The diagnostic ratio was 12. The overall area under the summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve was 0.80.ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that plasma sTREM-1, as a single index, may play a prognostic role in the early 28-day mortality of sepsis in patients. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Sepsis, a serious clinical syndrome known as organs dysfunction caused by an unbalanced host inflammatory response to infection, is of great concern in emergency medicine. Over the past two decades, the definition of sepsis has changed from systemic inflammatory response syndrome lead by infection to organs damage caused by infection. Under the new diagnostic criterion, septic patients are too serious to be treated in Emergency Department, and need intensive treatment of Intensive Care Unit. In this paper, by analyzing the development process from infection to sepsis and expounding the role of cytokines in the development of sepsis, we think that measures should be taken at the early stage of infection in order to prevent and block the occurrence of sepsis.
Objective To investigate the expression of oncostatin M (OSM) in patients with sepsis and its role in early recognition of sepsis. Methods Thirty-four patients with sepsis admitted in Shanxi Bethune Hospital fromJune 3, 2021 to January 18, 2022 were selected as a sepsis group, 15 patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) as a case control group, and 16 adults who underwent physical examination in the same period were selected as a healthy control group. The patients in the sepsis group were followed up for 28 days and divided into a survival group and a death group. The serum OSM level and its correlation with clinical indexes (white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, sequential organ failure assessment score and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ) were analyzed, and the diagnostic value of OSM expression level in the early identification of sepsis was analyzed. Results Compared with the case control group and the healthy control group, the expression level of OSM in the sepsis group was significantly higher [(502.07±209.93)pg/mL vs. (368.22±65.95)pg/mL and (382.09±73.04)pg/mL, P<0.05]. However, the high expression of OSM had no significant correlation with white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte or disease severity score (P>0.05), and there was no significant difference in serum OSM level between the sepsis survival group and the death group. Compared with white blood cell count, the high expression of OSM has certain diagnostic value in the early identification of sepsis. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of OSM in predicting sepsis was 0.794 (95% confidence interval 0.666 - 0.922, P<0.05), with the sensitivity of 79.4% and the specificity of 73.3%. Conclusion The expression of OSM in patients with sepsis is significantly increased, and the high expression of OSM has a certain diagnostic value in the early identification of sepsis.
ObjectiveTo investigate the prognostic value of serum procalcitonin (PCT) level and its change for patients with severe trauma and sepsis. MethodsEighty-two patients with severe trauma and sepsis treated between June 2013 and June 2014 were chosen to be our study subjects. According to the clinical outcome at day 28, they were divided into survival group (n=54) and death group (n=28). Serum procalcitonin levels at hour 0, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 after admitted to the emergency intensive care unit were detected in all the patients. Then we calculated the rate of procalcitonin change in each time points, injury severity score (ISS) score, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE)Ⅱ score and white blood cells (WBC) count. ResultsProcalciton level at hour 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 of the survival group was significantly lower than the death group (P<0.05); the rate of procalcitonin change at hour 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 was significantly lower than the death group (P<0.05), and the APACHE Ⅱ score was significantly lower than the death group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the ISS score and WBC count between the two groups (P>0.05). ConclusionEarly procalcitonin level and its dynamic change are good indicators in judging the prognosis of patients with severe trauma and sepsis, especially the early dynamic change in the rate of procalcitonin.
ObjectiveTo investigate the changes of platelet-leukocyte aggregates (PLA) level in patients with sepsis and its diagnostic value in sepsis complicated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).MethodsA prospective study was carried in adult sepsis patients admitted to our hospital from January 2015 to November 2016. According to the 2012 " Berlin definition” diagnostic criteria, 58 cases of sepsis with ARDS were allocated to an experimental group and 139 cases of sepsis non-ARDS patients were allocated to a control group. Immediately after the diagnosis of sepsis, elbow vein blood samples were collected for flow cytometry assay of PLA. The acute physiology and chronic health assessment II (APACHE II score) of each group was performed and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn.ResultsPlatelet-neutrophil aggregates (PNA) and platelet-lymphocyte aggregates (PLyA) in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group, but there were no significant differences (both P>0.05). The platelet-monocyte aggregates (PMA) of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). Peripheral blood PMA was positively correlated with APACHE II score (r=0.671, P<0.001). When PMA was used as the test variable, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.945 with significant diagnostic value (P<0.001), and optimal cutoff value of PMA was 8.25%, with diagnostic sensitivity of 0.806 and diagnostic specificity of 0.951. When APACHE II was used as the test variable, AUC was 0.930, with significant diagnostic value (P<0.001), and optimal threshold of APACHE II was 16.500 with diagnostic sensitivity of 0.871 and diagnostic specificity of 0.852.ConclusionPMA is of great value in the diagnosis of sepsis with ARDS.
Objective To investigate the changes of microRNA-150 ( miR-150) in peripheral blood leukocytes in sepsis patients, and their relationship with expression of immune cytokines and sepsis severity. Methods The level of mature miR-150 was quantified by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and normalized to that of control miRNA, U6, in peripheral blood leukocytes of 40 patients with sepsis, 20 patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome ( SIRS) , and 20 normal individuals. Serum concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) were measured by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay in all subjects. The sequential organ failure assessment ( SOFA) score systemwas used to evaluate the severity of sepsis. The relationships between miR-150 and the white blood cell count ( WBC) , TNF-α, IL-10 and SOFA score of the sepsis patients were analyzed. Results MiR-150 was stable for at least 5 days when specimen stored at 4 ℃ and the determination of miR-150 had a broad linear detecting range ( 6. 97-6. 97 ×104 pg/ μL RNA, the lowest detecting limit: 6. 97 pg/μL RNA,r=0.999) .MiR-150 expression in the peripheral blood leukocytes in the sepsis group was significantly lower than that in the healthy control group ( Plt;0.01) , while WBC, IL-10 and IL-10/TNF-α ratio were significantly higher ( Plt;0.05) . There was no significant difference in levels of miR-150, IL-10, IL-10/TNF-α ratio, and WBC between the sepsis group and the SIRS group (Pgt;0.05) . There was no significant difference in serum concentrations of TNF-α among three groups ( Pgt;0.05) . MiR-150 expression in non-survivor sepsis patients was significantly lower than that in survivor sepsis patients (Plt;0.05) , while serum IL-10 and IL-10/TNF-αratio were significantly higher (Plt;0.01) , but there was no significant difference in serum TNF-α between the non-survivor group and the survivor group ( Pgt;0.05) . There was significantly negative correlation between miR-150 and SOFA score, TNF-α and IL-10( r=-0. 619, - 0.457, -0. 431, Plt;0.05, respectively) , but no correlation between miR-150 and WBC ( r =-0. 184, Pgt;0.05) . There was no relationship between serum TNF-α, IL-10, IL-10 /TNF-α ratio or SOFA score ( Pgt;0.05) . Conclusions MiR-150 expression in the peripheral blood specimens is significantly decreased in sepsis patients. The expression level of miR-150 not only reflect the situation of inflammatory response, but also may be used as a prognostic marker in sepsis, as it can reflect the severity of sepsis in certain degree.