Adjunctive Therapies in Sepsis

The past several decades have seen the proposal of many novel therapies for sepsis, but none have been successfully introduced into current standard practice. Anti-inflammatory therapies seek to quell the overwhelming inflammation and coagulation dysregulation most often present during sepsis onset. More recently, immunostimulatory therapies have been investigated, seeking to rescue the paralyzed immune system that often develops later in the course of sepsis leading to secondary nosocomial infections and death. Other approaches include renal replacement therapies and plasma exchange, which attempt to remove sepsis proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators nonspecifically. While we await an effective drug or therapy, current investigations with novel approaches are presented here.