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Oxidative Stress in Critically Ill Children with Sepsis
1Clinical Director, Division of Critical Care Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The Kindervelt Laboratory for Critical Care Medicine Research, Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation. Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Insights
Sepsis causes many deaths in intensive care units, especially in children. Oxidative stress is a key factor in sepsis, offering potential new treatments for critically ill children.
Area of Science:
- Critical care medicine
- Pediatric critical illness
- Pathophysiology of sepsis
Background:
- Sepsis is a major cause of death in intensive care units (ICUs).
- It significantly impacts critically ill children, leading to high morbidity and mortality.
- Sepsis involves systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and coagulation issues, impairing oxygen delivery and causing organ failure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of oxidative and nitrosative stress in sepsis pathophysiology.
- To highlight potential therapeutic targets in pediatric sepsis.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on oxidative and nitrosative stress in sepsis.
- Analysis of the mechanisms linking oxidative stress to the inflammatory response in sepsis.
Main Results:
- Oxidative stress is a critical mediator and promoter of the systemic inflammatory response in sepsis.
- It contributes to endothelial dysfunction and impaired tissue oxygenation.
Conclusions:
- Oxidative and nitrosative stress are central to sepsis pathophysiology.
- Targeting oxidative stress presents a promising therapeutic strategy for sepsis, particularly in critically ill children.
Abstract:
Sepsis is one of the leading causes of death in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. Sepsis accounts for significant morbidity and mortality in critically ill children as well. The pathophysiology of sepsis is characterized by a complex systemic inflammatory response, endothelial dysfunction, and alterations in the coagulation system, which lead to perturbations in the delivery of oxygen and metabolic substrates to the tissues, end-organ dysfunction, and ultimately death. Oxidative stress plays a crucial role as both a promoter and mediator of the systemic inflammatory response, suggesting potential targets for the treatment of critically ill children with the sepsis syndrome. Herein, we will provide a brief review of the role of oxidative and nitrosative stress in the pathophysiology of sepsis.
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