Septic shock in older people: a prospective cohort study
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Updated: May 10, 2026

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Published on: April 18, 2025
Fabiano Pinheiro da Silva1, Fernando Godinho Zampieri, Denise Frediani Barbeiro
1Emergency Medicine Department, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. pinheirofabiano@hotmail.com.
Background:
Septic shock is the first cause of death in Intensive Care Units. Despite experimental data showing increased inflammatory response of aged animals following infection, the current accepted hypothesis claims that aged patients are immunocompromised, when compared to young individuals.
Results:
Here, we describe a prospective cohort study designed to analyze the immune profile of this population.
Conclusion:
Older people are as immunocompetent as the young individual, regarding the cytokines, chemokines and growth factors response to devastating infection.
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