Surgical infections: blocking the mediator cascade responsible for sepsis and septic shock.

In conventional usage, "sepsis" denotes a clinical syndrome caused by excessive release of a variety of proinflammatory mediators, including tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1, and metabolites of arachidonic acid. Because this condition can be precipitated by infectious or noninfectious causes (eg, acute pancreatitis), a recent consensus conference has advocated replacing the term sepsis with the phrase systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Improvements in our understanding of the pathophysiologic basis for systemic inflammatory response syndrome have resulted in the development of a number of novel approaches for treating, preventing, or limiting its deleterious consequences. Although much of this work remains confined to the laboratory, several of these approaches are undergoing (or recently have undergone) clinical evaluation. Among these are the use of monoclonal antibodies against endotoxin, monoclonal antibodies against tumor necrosis factor, recombinant proteins that antagonize the effects of or bind to circulating interleukin-1 or tumor necrosis factor, and drugs that inhibit the enzyme cyclooxygenase, which is responsible for the formation of certain key metabolites of arachidonic acid.