[Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and endothelial cell injury]

During recent years, evidences have been accumulated demonstrating bidirectional crosstalk between coagulation and inflammation. This review outlines the influences that coagulation and inflammation exert on each other to the endothelium and how these systems induce systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Then we discussed the implications of leucocyte-endothelial activation to endothelial cell injury followed by multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in patients with sustained SIRS. Last we demonstrated an important role of inflammatory circulation disturbance induced by endothelial cell injury for the pathogenesis of MODS in SIRS and sepsis.