[Oxygen radicals in septic shock].

The accumulation and stimulation of PMN-granulocytes, the enhanced prostaglandin metabolism and tissue hypoxia lead to an enhanced generation of oxygen free radicals and their metabolites in septic shock. These radicals seem, at least partly, to be responsible for the observed damages of the so-called shock organs in sepsis. It was shown in animals subjected to septic shock that free radical scavengers also in combination with antibiotics, could not only decrease the amount of tissue damage but also improve the survival rate.