Active clinical trials for "Toxemia"

During infections (sepsis) bloodflow in small vessels (microcirculation) becomes disturbed. Restoration of bloodpressure and cardiac performance may not be sufficient to correct these alterations. Magnesium is a potent vasodilator which may be used to open up the small vessels, in order to reduce organ failure.

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of receptors that is specifically expressed on the surfaces of monocytes and neutrophils.TREM-1 expression is increased in infectious diseases and is associated with the release of soluble TREM-1 (sTREM-1).There has been demonstrated that the value of plasma sTREM-1 levels as an indicator of sepsis was superior, although other studies reported that the value of sTREM-1 for diagnosing sepsis was inferior.An increasing number of studies indicate that there are increased levels of sTREM-1 in body fluid samples for the following diseases and conditions: sepsis, pneumonia, pleural effusion, septic arthritis, meningitis, peritonitis, and uterine cavity infection. Inflammation is now believed to play a major role in the pathophysiology of AKI. It is hypothesized that the initial insult results in morphological and/or functional changes in vascular endothelial cells and/or in tubular epithelium in sepsis models. Then, leukocytes including neutrophils, macrophages, natural killer cells, and lymphocytes infiltrate into the injured kidneys and induce the generation of inflammatory mediators. Whether urine sTREM-1 could also be detected and its significance in sepsis and AKI has not been reported yet. The present study focused on the value of serum & urine sTREM-1 for sepsis identification, severity and prognosis assessments, and potential sepsis-related AKI. We also made comparisons between sTREM-1 and WBC counts, serum CRP, serum PCT, urine output,CC SCr, and BUN among sepsis patients.

Understudied drugs will be administered to children per standard of care as prescribed by their treating caregiver and only biological sample collection during the time of drug administration will be involved. A total of approximately 7000 children aged <21 years who are receiving these drugs for standard of care will be enrolled and will be followed for up a maximum of 90 days. The goal of this study is to characterize the pharmacokinetics of understudied drugs for which specific dosing recommendations and safety data are lacking. The prescribing of drugs to children will not be part of this protocol. Taking advantage of procedures done as part of routine medical care (i.e. blood draws) this study will serve as a tool to better understand drug exposure in children receiving these drugs per standard of care. The data collected through this initiative will also provide valuable pharmacokinetic and dosing information of drugs in different pediatric age groups as well as special pediatric populations (i.e. obese).

Protocol Synopsis Protocol title: Assessment of peritoneal immune response in patients with severe intra-abdominal sepsis managed by laparostomy and VAC Purpose: Assessment of peritoneal immune response in patients with severe intra-abdominal sepsis Design: Prospective, single-center study Patient Population: Male or female adults (>18 years) with severe intra-abdominal sepsis No. of Subjects: 60 patients divided into two groups, 30 patients with severe intra-operative sepsis and 30 patients without sepsis scheduled to undergo major abdominal operations (middle line incision>15cm). The study is estimated up to 2 year to enroll Duration of Follow-up: Follow-up will be performed daily while hospitalized, until patient discharged or deceased. Endpoints: To measure the peritoneal cytokines levels in patients with severe intra-abdominal sepsis. To correlate the cytokines levels in the abdominal cavity and the serum plasma. To correlate cytokines response in serum plasma and peritoneal fluid with mortality and morbidity. To compare cytokines results in serum plasma and peritoneal fluid between patients with severe intra-abdominal sepsis and patients undergoing major laparotomy without sepsis. To assess the microbial load in the abdominal cavity in patients with severe sepsis. To assess the biofilm formation in VAC polyurethane sponge.

The overall hypotheses of this project is that severe sepsis is associated with endothelial dysfunction; that endothelial dysfunction, in turn, is predictive of subsequent organ failure and death; and that protocolized resuscitation attenuates endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction and improves patient survival.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether analysis of specific serum biomarkers will improve the diagnosis of late onset neonatal sepsis and to determine the correlation between plasma levels of specific cytokines and bacteremia in NICU patients >3 days of age.

Sepsis remains a major cause of death in developed countries. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of inflammatory and immune response of patients with severe sepsis is an important step that could open the way for new therapeutic approaches.

The focus of this study will be to conduct a prospective, randomized controlled trial (RCT) at Cape Regional Medical Center (CRMC), Oroville Hospital (OH), and UCSF Medical Center (UCSF) in which a Gram type infection-specific algorithm will be applied to EHR data for the detection of severe sepsis. For patients determined to have a high risk of severe sepsis, the algorithm will generate automated voice, telephone notification to nursing staff at CRMC, OH, and UCSF. The algorithm's performance will be measured by analysis of the primary endpoint, time to antibiotic administration. The secondary endpoint will be reduction in the administration of unnecessary antibiotics, which includes reductions in secondary antibiotics and reductions in total time on antibiotics.

Severe sepsis induces significant changes in expression of insulin- and toll-like receptors, cytokines, markers of apoptosis, and activation of t- and b-lymphocytes.

This study is being done to help determine whether patients with severe sepsis (overwhelming inflammation in the body as a result of an infection) lose muscle and become weak more rapidly than patients with other severe illnesses. Weakness and muscle loss that develops after a severe illness is a serious problem. Patients who develop weakness and have a decrease in muscle size often have to stay in the hospital longer and have a higher chance of dying. At the current time, it is not clear whether certain severe illnesses are more likely to cause weakness and muscle loss. This study will be done to measure the changes in muscle size and strength as a result of each patient's illness