Objective: To investigate the differences in clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of pediatric septic shock in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) among hospitals of different levels. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 368 children with septic shock treated in the PICU of Beijing Children's Hospital, Henan Children's Hospital, and Baoding Children's Hospital from January 2018 to December 2021. Their clinical data were collected, including the general information, location of onset (community or hospital-acquired), severity, pathogen positivity, consistence of guideline (the rate of standard attainment at 6 h after resuscitation and the rate of anti-infective drug administration within 1 h after diagnosis), treatment, and in-hospital mortality. The 3 hospitals were national, provincial, and municipal, respectively. Furthermore, the patients were divided into the tumor group and the non-tumor group, and into the in-hospital referral group and the outpatient or emergency admission group. Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the data. Results: The 368 patients aged 32 (11, 98) months, of whom 223 were males and 145 females. There were 215, 107, and 46 patients with septic shock, with males of 141, 51, and 31 cases, from the national, provincial, and municipal hospitals, respectively. The difference in pediatric risk of mortality Ⅲ (PRISM Ⅲ) scores among the national,provincial and municipal group was statistically significant (26(19, 32) vs.19(12, 26) vs. 12(6, 19), Z=60.25,P<0.001). The difference in community acquired septic shock among the national,provincial and municipal group was statistically significant (31.6%(68/215) vs. 84.1%(90/107) vs. 91.3%(42/46), χ²=108.26,P<0.001). There were no significant differences in compliance with guidelines among the 3 groups (P>0.05). The main bacteria detected in the national group were Klebsiella pneumoniae (15.4% (12/78)) and Staphylococcus aureus (15.4% (12/78)); in the provincial group were Staphylococcus aureus (19.0% (12/63)) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.7% (8/63)), and in the municipal group were Streptococcus pneumoniae (40.0% (10/25)) and Enteric bacilli (16.0% (4/25)). The difference in the proportion of virus and the proportion of 3 or more initial antimicrobials used among the national,provincial and municipal group was statistically significant (27.7% (43/155) vs. 14.9% (13/87) vs. 9.1% (3/33), 22.8%(49/215) vs. 11.2%(12/107) vs. 6.5%(3/46), χ²=8.82, 10.99, both P<0.05). There was no difference in the in-hospital mortality among the 3 groups (P>0.05). Regarding the subgroups of tumor and non-tumor, the national group had higher PRISM Ⅲ (31(24, 38) vs. 22 (21, 28) vs.16 (9, 22), 24 (18, 30) vs. 17(8, 24) vs. 10 (5, 16), Z=30.34, 10.45, both P<0.001), and it was the same for the subgroups of in-hospital referral and out-patient or emergency admission (29 (21, 39) vs. 23 (17, 30) vs. 15 (10, 29), 23 (17, 29) vs. 18 (10, 24) vs. 11 (5, 16), Z=20.33, 14.25, both P<0.001) as compared to the provincial and municipal group. There was no significant difference in the in-hospital mortality among the 2 pairs of subgroups (all P>0.05). Conclusion: There are differences in the severity, location of onset, pathogen composition, and initial antibiotics of pediatric septic shock in children's hospitals of different levels, but no differences in compliance with guidelines and in-hospital survival rate.
Female ; Male ; Humans ; Child ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock, Septic/therapy* ; Hospitalization ; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric ; Hospitals, Pediatric

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of new coagulation biomarkers including soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) and tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor complex (t-PAI·C) for the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis in children. Methods: The prospective observational study enrolled 59 children who were diagnosed with sepsis including severe sepsis and septic shock in the Department of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine of Shanghai Children's Medical Center affiliated to the Medical College of Shanghai Jiao Tong University from June 2019 to June 2021. The sTM, t-PAI·C and conventional coagulation tests were detected on illness day one of sepsis. Twenty healthy children were selected as the control group, and the above parameters were detected on the day of inclusion. Children with sepsis were divided into survival group and non-survival group according to prognosis at discharge. Baseline comparisons between groups were performed using Mann-Whitney U test. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors for the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis in children. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was conducted to evaluate the predictive values of above variables for the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis in children. Results: The sepsis group included 59 patients (39 boys and 20 girls), aged 61(22, 136)months. There were 44 patients in the survival group and 15 patients in the non-survival group, respectively. The control group consisted of 20 boys, aged 107 (94,122) months. Patients in the sepsis group had higher sTM and t-PAI·C ((12 (9, 17)×10³ vs. 9(8, 10)×10³ TU/L, 10(6, 22) vs. 2 (1, 3) μg/L, Z=-2.15, -6.05, both P<0.05) compared with children in the control group. The t-PAI·C was superior to sTM for the diagnosis of sepsis. The areas under the curve (AUC) of t-PAI·C and sTM for the diagnosis of sepsis were 0.95 and 0.66, respectively, and the optimal cut-off value were 3 μg/L and 12×10³ TU/L, respectively. Patients in the survival group had lower sTM (10 (8, 14)×10³ vs. 17 (11, 36)×10³ TU/L, Z=-2.73, P=0.006) than those in the non-survival group. Logistic regression analysis showed that sTM was a risk factor for death at discharge (OR=1.14, 95%CI 1.04-1.27, P=0.006). The AUC of sTM and t-PAI·C for predicting death at discharge were 0.74 and 0.62, respectively, and the optimal cut-off values were 13×10³ TU/L and 6 μg/L, respectively. The AUC of sTM combined with platelet counts for predicting death at discharge was 0.89, which was superior to sTM and t-PAI·C. Conclusion: The sTM and t-PAI·C had clinical application values in diagnosing and predicting prognosis in pediatric sepsis.
Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Biomarkers ; China ; Sepsis/diagnosis* ; Shock, Septic ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator ; Infant ; Child, Preschool

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by infection that lead to dysregulation of the host response. Sepsis and septic shock with a high mortality threaten human health at present, which are important medical and health problems. Early diagnosis and treatment decision-making for sepsis and septic shock still need to be improved. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles with a diameter of 30-150 nm formed by the fusion of multi-vesicle bodies and cell membranes. Exosomes can effectively transport a variety of bioactive substances such as proteins, lipids, RNA, DNA, and participate in the regulation of inflammatory response, immune response, infection and other pathophysiological processes. In recent years, exosomes have become one of the important methods for the diagnosis and treatment of systemic inflammatory diseases. This article will focus on the basic and clinical research of sepsis, and focus on the research progress of exosomes in the diagnosis and targeted therapy of sepsis.
Humans ; Shock, Septic/therapy* ; Exosomes/metabolism* ; Sepsis/therapy* ; Extracellular Vesicles/metabolism* ; RNA/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate time-related association between fluid balance and prognosis in sepsis patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted based on the data of sepsis patients in the Medical Information Database for Intensive Care-IV 2.0 (MIMIC-IV 2.0) from 2008 to 2019. Sepsis patients aged ≥ 18 years who were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) for at least 2 days were included. The daily fluid balance and cumulative fluid balance (CFB) were calculated from days 1 to 7 after ICU admission. According to CFB,the patients were divided into negative fluid balance group (CFB% < 0%), fluid balance group (0% ≤ CFB% ≤ 10%), and fluid overload group (CFB% > 10%). In-hospital mortality was the primary outcome. Multifactorial Logistic regression was used to analyze time-related association between different CFB and the risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with sepsis during 7 days after ICU admission. In addition, subgroup analysis was performed on patients with septic shock and patients with sepsis who stayed in the ICU for 7 days or longer. RESULTS: A total of 11 437 patients with sepsis were included, of which 6 595 were male and 4 842 were female. The mean age was (64.4±16.4) years. A total of 10 253 patients (89.6%) survived and 1 184 patients (10.4%) died during hospitalization. Compared with the survival group, patients in the death group were older, lighter, had higher sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), simplified acute physiology score II (SAPS II), longer ICU stay, higher incidence of septic shock, and higher proportion of invasive mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy (RRT) and vasoactive drugs. In terms of comorbidities, congestive heart failure, renal disease, liver disease, and malignancy were more common in the death group. The death group had a higher daily fluid balance than the survival group during 7 days after ICU admission, the CFB in the two groups gradually increased with length of ICU stay. After adjusting variables such as age, gender, race, SOFA score, SAPS II score, comorbidities, and the use of invasive mechanical ventilation, RRT and vasoactive drugs, multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that fluid overload on day 1 after ICU admission was a protective factor for the reduced risk of in-hospital mortality in sepsis patients [odds ratio (OR) = 0.74, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.64-0.86, P = 0.001]. However, fluid overload on day 3 was a risk factor for in-hospital mortality in sepsis patients (OR = 1.70, 95%CI was 1.47-1.97, P < 0.001) and the risk of in-hospital mortality was significantly increased from day 4 to day 7. Furthermore, the same results were obtained in patients with septic shock and sepsis patients who stayed in the ICU for 7 days or longer. CONCLUSIONS Fluid overload on day 1 was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality. However, from the third day, fluid overload increases the risk of in-hospital mortality. Thus, managing fluid balance at different times may improve prognosis.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Shock, Septic ; Cohort Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Intensive Care Units ; Water-Electrolyte Balance ; Heart Failure ; Prognosis

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of thrombocytopenia on the prognosis of patients with septic shock and its mechanism in leading to death. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was conducted. Patients with septic shock admitted to emergency intensive care unit (EICU) and intensive care unit (ICU) in Peking University People's Hospital from April 1, 2015 to January 31, 2023 were enrolled. Patients were divided into the thrombocytopenia group and the non-thrombocytopenia group, according to whether the minimum platelet count was less than 100×10⁹/L within 24 hours after admission to ICU. The outcome index was the mortality during ICU stay. The baseline data, hospitalization information and laboratory test results of the two groups were compared, and the risk factors of in-hospital death were analyzed by Logistic regression, and the mediation effect was performed by Bootstrap method. RESULTS: A total of 301 patients with septic shock were enrolled, of which 172 (57.1%) had thrombocytopenia and 129 (42.9%) did not. There were significant differences between the two groups in age, mortality, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), continuous renal replacement therapy, and level of creatinine, urea nitrogen, total bilirubin, white blood cell count, lymphocyte count, prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). Univariate Logistic regression analysis showed thrombocytopenia [odds ratio (OR) = 4.478], continuous renal replacement therapy (OR = 4.601), DIC (OR = 6.248), serum creatinine (OR = 1.005), urea nitrogen (OR = 1.126), total bilirubin (OR = 1.006) and PT (OR = 1.126) were risk factors of death during hospitalization in patients with septic shock (all P < 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that thrombocytopenia [OR = 3.338, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.910-5.834, P = 0.000], continuous renal replacement therapy (OR = 3.175, 95%CI was 1.576-6.395, P = 0.001) and PT (OR = 1.077, 95%CI was 1.011-1.147, P = 0.021) were independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality in patients with septic shock. Mediation analysis showed that 51% of the deaths due to thrombocytopenia in patients with septic shock were due to coagulopathy. CONCLUSIONS Thrombocytopenia is a powerful predictor of death in septic shock patients, and half of all thrombocytopenia-related deaths may be due to abnormal coagulation function.
Humans ; Shock, Septic ; Retrospective Studies ; Case-Control Studies ; Hospital Mortality ; Prognosis ; Thrombocytopenia ; Intensive Care Units ; Bilirubin ; Nitrogen ; Urea ; Sepsis

Severe pneumonia is one of the most common infectious diseases and the leading cause of sepsis and septic shock. Preventing infection, balancing the patient's immune status, and anti-coagulation therapy are all important elements in the treatment of severe pneumonia. As multi-target agents, Xuebijing injection (XBJ) has shown unique advantages in targeting complex conditions and saving the lives of patients with severe pneumonia. This review outlines progress in the understanding of XBJ's anti-inflammatory, endotoxin antagonism, and anticoagulation effects. From the hundreds of publications released over the past few years, the key results from representative clinical studies of XBJ in the treatment of severe pneumonia were selected and summarized. XBJ was observed to effectively suppress the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, counter the effects of endotoxin, and assert an anticoagulation effect in most clinical trials, which are consistent with experimental studies. Collectively, this evidence suggests that XBJ could play an important and expanding role in clinical medicine, especially for sepsis, septic shock and severe pneumonia. Please cite this article as: Zhang M, Zheng R, Liu WJ, Hou JL, Yang YL, Shang HC. Xuebijing injection, a Chinese patent medicine, against severe pneumonia: Current research progress and future perspectives. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(5): 413-422.
Humans ; Nonprescription Drugs ; Shock, Septic/drug therapy* ; Sepsis/drug therapy* ; Endotoxins ; Anticoagulants/therapeutic use*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of the pre-shock state on the mortality of patients with sepsis. METHODS: We enrolled patients with sepsis admitted to the medical intensive care unit of a tertiary care university hospital. These patients were then classified into three groups: sepsis, pre-shock state, and septic shock. The primary outcome was the 28-day mortality rate. The secondary outcomes were the 90-day, 180-day, and 1-year mortality rates. RESULTS: A total of 303 patients (groups: sepsis 135 [44.6%]), pre-shock state (93 [30.7%]), and septic shock (75 [24.8%]) completed the 1-year follow-up. The mortality rates at 28 days, 90 days, and 180 days and 1 year were significantly higher in the pre-shock state group than those of the sepsis group, but significantly lower than those in the septic shock group, especially among older patients. When compared with the pre-shock state group, the sepsis group had significantly lower mortality risks at 28 days, 90 days, and 180 days and 1 year, whereas the sepsis shock group had higher mortality risks at these time points. CONCLUSION The mortality rates of patients in the pre-shock state were notably different from those of patients with sepsis or septic shock. The introduction of a modified sepsis severity classification, which includes sepsis, pre-shock state, and septic shock, could offer valuable additional prognostic information.
Humans ; Shock, Septic ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Hospitalization ; Universities

Current clinical approaches for septic shock increasingly incorporate bundle treatment, a multi-component approach that uses a collection of tests and agents to assist in the identification and treatment of infection. The present study analyzed completion rates of 3 h and 6 h bundle treatment among patients with septic shock in intensive care units (ICUs) of hospitals in Jiangsu Province from 2016 to 2020, using data from the Jiangsu Provincial Intensive Care Medical Quality Control Center. Current approaches and factors affecting treatment completion were assessed.The completion rates of 3 h and 6 h bundle treatment in ICUs of all medical units in Jiangsu Province and in ICUs of hospitals of different levels were recorded. Analyses show that the completion rate of 3 h and 6 h bundle treatment for patients with septic shock in ICUs in Jiangsu Province increased year by year from 2016 to 2020.The completion rate of 3 h bundle treatment increased from 69.82% (3 604/5 162) to 82.47% (8 915/10 775) (all P<0.001). The completion rate of 6 h bundle treatment increased from 62.69% (3 236/5 162) to 72.54% (7 816/10 775) (all P<0.001). In addition, year by year, the completion rate of 3 h bundle treatment in ICUs in tertiary hospitals increased, from 69.80% (3 596/5 152) to 82.23% (7 375/8 969), while the completion rate of 6 h bundle treatment increased from 62.69% (3 230/5 152) to 72.18% (6 474/8 969) (all P<0.001). Completion rates in secondary hospitals also increased year by year, from 80.00% (8/10) to 85.27% (1 540/1 806) for 3 h treatment and from 60.00% (6/10) to 74.31% (1 342/1 806) (all P<0.001) for 6 h treatment. Completion rates for 3 h treatment in first-tier cities (83.99% (2 099/2 499)) and second-tier cities (84.68% (3 952/4 667)) was higher than in third-tier cities (79.36% (2 864/3 609)). The completion rate of 6 h bundle treatment gradually decreased in first-line (77.19% (1 929/2 499)), second-line (74.37% (3 471/4 667)), and third-line (66.94% (2 416/3 609)) cities (all P<0.001). The data collectively show that from 2016 to 2020, the completion rate of bundle treatment in septic shock patients in ICUs in Jiangsu Province improved significantly.
Humans ; Shock, Septic/therapy* ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Sepsis/therapy*

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment experiences and prognostic factors for descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM). Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the data of 22 patients with DNM diagnosed and treated in Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2016 to August 2022, including 16 males and 6 females, aged 29-79 years. After admission, all patients underwent CT scanning of the maxillofacial, cervical, and thoracic regions to confirm their diagnoses. Emergency incision and drainage were performed. The neck incision was treated with continuous vacuum sealing drainage. According to the prognoses, the patients were divided into cure group and death group, and the prognostic factors were analyzed. SPSS 25.0 software was used to analyze the clinical data. Rusults: The main complaints were dysphagia (45.5%, 10/22) and dyspnea (50.0%, 11/22). Odontogenic infection accounted for 45.5% (10/22) and oropharyngeal infection accounted for 54.5% (12/22). There were 16 cases in the cured group and 6 cases in the death group, with a total mortality rate of 27.3%. The mortality rates of DNM typeⅠand typeⅡwere respectively 16.7% and 40%. Compared with the cured group, the death group had higher incidences for diabetes, coronary heart disease and septic shock (all P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences between the cure group and the death group in procalcitonin level (50.43 (137.64) ng/ml vs 2.92 (6.33) ng/ml, M(IQR), Z=3.023, P<0.05) and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ(APACHEⅡ) score (16.10±2.40 vs 6.75±3.19, t=6.524, P<0.05). Conclution: DNM is rare, with high mortality, high incidence of septic shock, and the increased procalcitonin level and APACHE Ⅱ score combined diabetes and coronary heart disease are the poor prognostic factors for DNM. Early incision and drainage combined with continuous vacuum sealing drainage technique is a better way to treat DNM.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Mediastinitis/diagnosis* ; Shock, Septic/complications* ; Retrospective Studies ; Procalcitonin ; Prognosis ; Drainage/adverse effects* ; Necrosis/therapy*

In 2021, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) jointly released the Surviving Sepsis Campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2020 with 93 recommendations. In the same year, the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine (JSICM) and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine (JAAM) also cooperated to publish the Japanese clinical practice guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2020, covering 118 clinical issues in 22 areas. In this paper, 50 items in the contents of the two guidelines are compared in accordance with the order of international guidelines, including screening, initial resuscitation, mean arterial pressure, transfer to intensive care unit (ICU), diagnosis of infection, timing of antimicrobial administration, biomarkers for initiation of antimicrobial therapy, selection of antibiotic, antifungal therapy, antiviral therapy, infusion of antibiotic, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, source of infection control, antimicrobial de-escalation strategy, course of antimicrobial administration, biomarkers for discontinuation of antibiotic, fluid management, vasoactive agents, positive inotropic agents, monitoring and intravenous access, fluid balance, oxygenation targets, high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy, noninvasive ventilation, protective ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), low tidal volume in respiratory failure patients with non-ARDS, lung recruitment maneuvers, prone position ventilation, muscle relaxants, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), glucocorticoids, blood purification, red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, immunoglobulin, stress ulcer prevention, prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE), renal replacement therapy, glycemic management, vitamin C, sodium bicarbonate therapy, nutrition, treatment goals, palliative care, peer support groups, transition of care, screening economic and social support, education for the knowledge about sepsis to the patients and their families, common decision-making, discharge planning, cognitive therapy and follow-up after discharge. It is convenient for everyone to understand some views in the field of sepsis and septic shock, and deepen their understanding.
Humans ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Respiration ; Sepsis ; Shock, Septic ; Japan ; Practice Guidelines as Topic