title: Pediatric septic shock: why has mortality decreased?-the utility of goal-directed therapy.
abstract: Mortality from septic shock in children has decreased by 92 percent in the last 36 years. The contributions of goal-directed therapy, intensive care, and other forms of support are responsible for this decrease. A deeper and more specific understanding of innate immunity and the biomolecular processes that operate in septic shock has offered the scientific basis to implement goal-directed therapies. However, therapies that are aimed specifically at manipulating the inflammatory cascade have yet to prove safe and effective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Residency Program and the Section of Pediatric Critical Care, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Luisa E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Arnal
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents