[Polytrauma as a cause of multiple organ failure].

In recent years progress in anaesthesia and surgery has led to improvements in care for traumatized patients. This progress not only affects emergency treatment, but also critical care. Although today a failure of one organ system can be successfully treated in most cases, the problem of multiple organ failure is still unsolved. Mortality even in young patients remains high (about 30 to 90%). Among the special problems are disturbances of the patients immune system, nosocomial infections with the development of sepsis and its impact on organ functions, hypermetabolism and metabolic failure. The improved insight into the cellular and humoral pathophysiology has led to changes in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in these patients. Only an aggressive, combined effort of many medical specialties from the beginning and an early recognition and treatment of complications and organ dysfunctions can lead to optimal results.