title: Immunostimulation using granulocyte- and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.
abstract: Sepsis is associated with failure of multiple organs, including failure of the immune system. The resulting 'sepsis-associated immunosuppression' resembles a state of immunological anergy that is characterized by repeated 'infectious hits', prolonged multiple-organ failure, and death. As a consequence, adjunctive treatment approaches using measures of immunostimulation with colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) were tested in animal experiments and clinical trials. Herein, data from randomized clinical trials will be discussed in the context of a recently published meta-analysis investigating the effects of granulocyte- and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor therapy in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Virchow Clinic, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany. schefold@charite.de
authors.forename: Joerg C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Schefold
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor