title: Selenium in Intensive Care (SIC): results of a prospective randomized, placebo-controlled, multiple-center study in patients with severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sepsis is associated with an increase in reactive oxygen species and low endogenous antioxidative capacity. We postulated that high-dose supplementation of sodium-selenite would improve the outcome of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective randomized, placebo-controlled, multiple-center trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven intensive care units in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were 249 patients with severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock and an Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III score >70.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients received 1000 microg of sodium-selenite as a 30-min bolus injection, followed by 14 daily continuous infusions of 1000 microg intravenously, or placebo.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The primary end point was 28-day mortality; secondary end points were survival time and clinical course of APACHE III and logistic organ dysfunction system scores. In addition, selenium levels in serum, whole blood, and urine as well as serum glutathione-peroxidase-3 activity were measured. From 249 patients included, 11 patients had to be excluded. The intention-to-treat analysis of the remaining 238 patients revealed a mortality rate of 50.0% in the placebo group and 39.7% in the selenium-treated group (p = .109; odds ratio, 0.66; confidence interval, 0.39-1.1). A further 49 patients had to be excluded before the final analysis because of severe violations of the study protocol. In the remaining 92 patients of the study group, the 28-day mortality rate was significantly reduced to 42.4% compared with 56.7% in 97 patients of the placebo group (p = .049, odds ratio, 0.56; confidence interval, 0.32-1.00). In predefined subgroup analyses, the mortality rate was significantly reduced in patients with septic shock with disseminated intravascular coagulation (n = 82, p = .018) as well as in the most critically ill patients with an APACHE III score > or =102 (>75% quartile, n = 54, p = .040) or in patients with more than three organ dysfunctions (n = 83, p = .039). Whole blood selenium concentrations and glutathione peroxidase-3 activity were within the upper normal range during selenium treatment, whereas they remained significantly low in the placebo group. There were no side effects observed due to high-dose sodium-selenite treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The adjuvant treatment of patients with high-dose sodium-selenite reduces mortality rate in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Klinik Innenstadt, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Münich, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias W A
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Angstwurm
authors.forename: Lothar
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Engelmann
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: Christoph H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Spes
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Abel
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meier-Hellmann
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Insel
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Radke
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schüttler
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gärtner
mesh_terms: D018806:APACHE; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004211:Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation / Q000209:etiology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009102:Multiple Organ Failure / Q000209:etiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018805:Sepsis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality; D018038:Sodium Selenite / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015996:Survival Rate; D018746:Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: C486484:GPX3 protein, human; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D018038:Sodium Selenite