This article is part of a series on Infection, edited by Steven Opal.

Review

Bench-to-bedside review: Sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock – does the nature of the infecting organism matter?

Hongmei Gao, Timothy W Evans and Simon J Finney

Adult Intensive Care Unit, Royal Brompton Hospital, Sydney Street, London SW3 6NP, UK

author email corresponding author email

Critical Care 2008, 12:213doi:10.1186/cc6862

Published:	6 May 2008

See related commentary by Cohen, http://ccforum.com/content/12/3/145

Abstract

International guidelines concerning the management of patients with sepsis, septic shock and multiple organ failure make no reference to the nature of the infecting organism. Indeed, most clinical signs of sepsis are nonspecific. In contrast, in vitro data suggest that there are mechanistic differences between bacterial, viral and fungal sepsis, and imply that pathogenetic differences may exist between subclasses such as Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. These differences are reflected in different cytokine profiles and mortality rates associated with Gram-positive and Gram-negative sepsis in humans. They also suggest that putative anti-mediator therapies may act differently according to the nature of an infecting organism. Data from some clinical trials conducted in severe sepsis support this hypothesis. It is likely that potential new therapies targeting, for example, Toll-like receptor pathways will require knowledge of the infecting organism. The advent of new technologies that accelerate the identification of infectious agents and their antimicrobial sensitivities may allow better tailored anti-mediator therapies and administration of antibiotics with narrow spectra and known efficacy.