OBJECTIVE Septic shock is characterized by hypotension and multiple organ failure after infection of microorganisms. Septic shock patients display high levels of circulating microparticles. These are small vesicles released from the plasma membrane of activated or apoptotic cells. Here, we have investigated the effects of in vivo injection of microparticles from nonseptic or septic subjects on ...

Glenohumeral septic arthritis is rare and usually a result of Staphylococcus aureus infection. Gram-negative septic arthritis is on the increase and is usually associated with intraabdominal pathology. We present a case of bilateral E. Coli glenohumeral septic arthritis associated with retroperitoneal abscess and discuss pitfalls in diagnosis and management.

Septic shock is a severe inflammatory state caused by an infectious agent. Our purpose was to investigate serum amyloid A (SAA) protein and C-reactive protein (CRP) as inflammatory markers of septic shock patients. Here we evaluate 29 patients in postoperative period, with septic shock, in a prospective study developed in a surgical intensive care unit. All eligible patients were monitored over...

Excessive inflammatory responses and impaired oxygen utilization because of microcirculatory failure are implicated in septic shock. Recent studies have pointed out some beneficial effects in the treatment of septic shock of several vasodilators that exert anti-inflammatory properties. In particular, the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine has been demonstrated to enhance cardiac performance, and to i...

1 Holmes CL, Patel BM, Russell JA, et al. Physiology of vasopressin relevant to the management of septic shock. Chest 2001; 120:989–1002 2 Malay MB, Ashton RC Jr, Landry DW, et al. Low-dose vasopressin in the treatment of vasodilatory septic shock. J Trauma 1999; 47:699–703 3 Tsuneyoshi I, Yamada H, Kakihana Y, et al. Hemodynamic and metabolic effects of low-dose vasopressin infusions in vasodi...

Introduction Norepinephrine (NE) is recognized as a potent vasopressor used in septic shock to reverse hypotension. Whether NE still exerts a positive effect on cardiac contractility through beta-adrenergic stimulation is unclear since the sensitivity of beta-adrenergic receptors can be abnormally reduced in septic conditions. Our study was designed to address this issue at the early phase of s...

Septic embolism associated with infective endocarditis (IE) is the occlusion of a blood vessel caused by an infected thrombus traveling through bloodstream resulting in ischemia and/or infarction. can result infarction due to vascular and infection, inflammation possible abscess formation. Systemic embolization generally occurs left-sided IE, causing stroke, blindness or endophthalmitis, spleni...

Methods Data from septic shock cases hospitalized in a tertiary ICU, during 2014, were retrospectively collected if patients had received phosphomycine i.v. at least for seventy-two hours, as rescue therapy for septic shock bacteraemia due to multidrug resistant (including colistin resistance) bacteria. Main outcomes (i.e. death in ICU, recovery from septic shock) were compared with cases of se...

Despite advances in antimicrobial and surgical therapy, septic arthritis remains a rheumatologic emergency that can lead to rapid joint destruction and irreversible loss of function. In adults, Staphylococcus aureus is the most common microorganism isolated from native joints. Streptococcus gordonii is a prominent member of the viridans group of oral bacteria and is among the bacteria most freq...

During the past decade a unifying hypothesis has been developed to explain the vascular changes that occur in septic shock on the basis of the effect of inflammatory mediators on the vascular endothelium. The vascular endothelium plays a central role in the control of microvascular flow, and it has been proposed that widespread vascular endothelial activation, dysfunction and eventually injury ...