Active clinical trials for "Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy"

Sepsis associated encephalopathy (SAE) is a poorly understood acute cerebral dysfunction that frequently appears in the setting of sepsis induced systemic inflammation. In fact, altered mentation is recognized as an independent predictor of death and poor outcomes in patients with sepsis. SAE may be manifested by a number of symptoms characterized by a change in baseline behavior, attention, alertness, cognition, or executive functioning. It occurs in the absence of direct Central Nervous System (CNS) infection, and the exact pathophysiology is of SAE is unknown, but theoretically seems to encompass a constellation of mechanisms such as impairment of the blood brain barrier (BBB), endothelial dysfunction, alteration in cerebral blood flow and neurotransmission, circulating inflammatory mediators, cellular hypoxia, and metabolic disturbances, that ultimately result in neuronal dysfunction and cell death. SAE is characterized by an altered mental status (AMS) that ranges from delirium to coma, and can lead to long-term cognitive impairment. SAE may appear early in the course of sepsis, and is often underestimated as an independent factor of mortality, yet the pathophysiology of SAE remains unknown, and there is a lack of specific investigations available to clinicians. Studies have evaluated biomarkers as prognostic tools. The Investigator propose to measure neuron specific enolase (NSE), S-100B, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1), Tau protein, Copeptin, spectrin breakdown products (SBDP 145, SBDP150), αII-spectrin N-terminal fragment (SNTF), neurofilament light and heavy chains (NF-L, NF-H), myelin basic protein (MBP), secretoneurin (SN), and other peptide levels in the serum of sepsis patients who develop altered mental status, to evaluate the kinetics of said biomarkers for 72 hours. The Investigator will monitor the course of the patients' hospitalization to determine whether there are biomarker correlates with survival and outcomes, including neurologic impairment. Finally, this investigation may provide a mechanistic pathway that defines the development of AMS in septic patients.

This is a single-center, prospective observational pilot study. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of trazodone as compared to quetiapine, in the management of ICU delirium in adult (>=18 years old) surgical and medical ICU patients. The investigators will compare outcomes such as delirium duration, delirium-free days, coma-free days, in-hospital mortality, 28-day mortality, hospital length of stay (LOS), ICU LOS, mechanical ventilator days, complications, adverse effects, rescue medication use, delirium symptom severity, sleep duration, and sleep quality among participants receiving trazodone or quetiapine. The investigators hypothesize participants receiving trazodone will be associated with a shorter duration of delirium, decreased delirium severity, and improved sleep quality compared to participants receiving quetiapine.

Sepsis is associated with a mortality rate of 20-25%, with significant increase in case of associated comorbidities or shock. SAE is one of the most common forms of encephalopathy encountered in critically ill patients, with increased ICP as a possible underlying mechanism. Many studies revealed that ONSD is a valuable ICP monitoring tool. Also, ONSD/ETD ratio, according to previous studies, seemed to be more reliable than ONSD alone in predicting neurological outcomes of comatosed patients. The present study will assess the correlation between US-ONSD/ETD ratio and the prognosis of SAE in critically ill patients.

In this study, the researcher involved the sepsis patients(defined by sepsis 3.0) in Peking Union Medical College Hospital. The SAE was defined as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of less than 15 and the Non-SAE group GCS = 15. The control group was the non-infectious patients with acute disease strikes and the healthy control. After the sample collection, the RNA-sequence, metabolites and cytokines were under detection.

Sepsis-associated brain dysfunction (SABD)with increased intracranial pressure is a complex pathology that can lead to unfavourable outcome. Although direct measurement of intracranial pressure using an intra-ventricular catheter remains the gold standard, it is burdened with potential serious complications due to its invasiveness. Ultrasonic measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) is a non-invasive method for ICP monitoring. Screening for SABD is crucial for early diagnosis and management, measurement of ONSD can detect elevated intracranial pressure in septic patients. Intracranial hypertension in septic patients might be a sign of SABD. Using ONSD for SABD screening requires further research. So, we hypothesized that ONSD could be used as an objective screening tool to predict and early diagnose SABD in adult septic patients.

The pathogenesis of sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is unclear, Formylpeptide receptor 1 (FPR1) is a cell membrane receptor that recruits leukocytes and mediates inflammatory responses after activation, but its role and mechanism in SAE are unknown. This project intends to clarify the relationship between FPR1 activation and SAE from the clinical. The investigators enrolled 100 patients with sepsis in ICU. Patients were divided into two groups according to diagnostic criteria: SAE group and none-SAE group. Whole blood was collected. The serum FPR1 protein level was measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. After whole blood RNA was extracted, the expressions of FPR1 and a reference gene were quantified by an automated one-step Taqman RT-PCR assay. Multiple logistical regression analysis was used to identify the independent factors (including FPR1 activation) for the prediction of SAE outcomes.

Septic encephalopathy (SE) is defined as acute cerebral dysfunction in patients with sepsis or septic shock. SE occurs in up to 50% of critically ill patients with sepsis and is associated with a high mortality and morbidity. The pathophysiology of SE is complex and involves increased levels of inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, Interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6, leading to blood brain barrier dysfunction and neuronal inflammation. Several biomarkers of neuronal injury have been proposed to identify patients with SE. Of these biomarkers, S100-β has the highest sensitivity and specificity. Sedation with Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is a promising strategy for the management of these patients, as DEX has been shown to decrease the production of inflammatory mediators in experimental models of sepsis. In clinical studies, DEX lowers the incidence of delirium and critical illness polyneuropathy. However, its effectiveness in treatment and prevention of SE remains unclear. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of two standard sedation protocols (Dexmedetomidine sedation vs. Propofol / Midazolam) on serum markers of SE in critically ill patients with sepsis who require sedation and mechanical ventilation.

Delirium and long-term cognitive dysfunction are important problems in intensive care patients. Patients with sepsis are at a high risk of developing delirium (septic encephalopathy), which may be an important risk factor for the development of long-term cognitive dysfunction. Working hypotheses: 1. Septic encephalopathy and cognitive dysfunction are caused by an unspecific reaction of the brain to an intense inflammatory stimulus. 2. It is possible to therapeutically influence the inflammatory response and its effects on the brain.

The research program explores how delirium influenced brain function in patients surviving delirium and septic encephalopathy from a non neurological specialized ICU cohort from 2013 to 2015 in Rigshospitalet (Glostrup).

Neurocognitive impairment is frequently observed in pediatric patients with meningoencephalitis (ME) and sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) which represent two relevant central nervous system (CNS) diseases in pediatric patients. It is uncertain, if the the origin of the disease, located primarily in the CNS of patients with ME or secondarily in patients with SAE in the course of sepsis, is of importance for the severity of injury to the brain. Prospective clinical studies combining clinical and laboratory examinations including specific biomarkers of neuroaxonal injury were not performed in a comparative study. Biomarkers of neuroaxonal injury are therefore not only of great interest to detect and monitor neurocognitive impairment but also to quantify the severity of brain injury in patients with ME and SAE.