Abstract
Severe sepsis and septic shock are common complications in the intensive care unit and associated with high mortality. Early antimicrobial therapies together with organ-supportive measures are the major therapeutic approaches. However in the last decades immunomodulatory therapies have been investigated due to the notion of a compromised inflammatory response in septic patients. In addition to lowering circulating cholesterol, statins (HMG-CoA-reductase-inhibitors) have also been shown to possess pleiotropic anti-inflammatory potential. Recent studies indicate that these anti-inflammatory effects also modulate acute inflammatory response and therefore may play a protective role in septic patients. In this review, the pathophysiological background and first clinical trials of statins as a new adjuvant therapy in sepsis are summarized.
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
MeSH terms
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Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use*
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Anticholesteremic Agents / therapeutic use*
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Cholesterol / blood
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Clinical Trials as Topic
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Coronary Disease / drug therapy
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Coronary Disease / immunology
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Endotoxemia / drug therapy
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Endotoxemia / immunology
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Endotoxemia / mortality
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Humans
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Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
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Hypercholesterolemia / drug therapy
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Hypercholesterolemia / immunology
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Inflammation Mediators / blood
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Intensive Care Units
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Sepsis / drug therapy*
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Sepsis / immunology*
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Sepsis / mortality
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Shock, Septic / drug therapy*
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Shock, Septic / immunology*
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Shock, Septic / mortality
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Signal Transduction / drug effects
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Survival Rate
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Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / drug therapy*
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Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / immunology*
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Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / mortality
Substances
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Anti-Inflammatory Agents
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Anticholesteremic Agents
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Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
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Inflammation Mediators
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Cholesterol