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Updated: Jan 25, 2026
07:42
A Data-Driven Approach to Quantifying Immune States in Sepsis
Published on: February 7, 2025
487
Composed endotypes to guide antibiotic discontinuation in sepsis
Jesus F Bermejo-Martin1,2, David Andaluz-Ojeda3,4, Marta Martin-Fernandez3
1Group for Biomedical Research in Sepsis (BioSepsis), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid/IECSCYL, Av. Ramón y Cajal, 3, 47003, Valladolid, Spain. jfbermejo@saludcastillayleon.es.
Critical Care (London, England)
|April 26, 2019
Summary
Shortening antibiotic duration may curb multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. New biomarkers show promise in identifying sepsis patients who can safely stop antibiotics, reducing MDR risks.
Area of Science:
- Critical care medicine
- Infectious diseases
- Biomarker research
Background:
- Overuse of empiric antibiotics in ICUs fuels multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria.
- Reducing antibiotic duration is key to mitigating MDR emergence.
- Uncertainty in patient recovery hinders antibiotic discontinuation decisions.
Discussion:
- Procalcitonin (PCT) is studied for guiding antibiotic withdrawal, but its effectiveness is debated.
- Combining multiple biomarkers may better predict uncomplicated sepsis outcomes.
- Candidate biomarkers include proadrenomedullin, HLA-DR, and interleukin-7 receptor levels.
Key Insights:
- Certain biomarkers can help exclude risks of septic shock, nosocomial infections, and mortality.
- Neutrophil protease activity and transcriptomic signatures (Sweeney et al., Davenport et al.) are promising.
- Biomarkers reflecting proteolytic, vascular, immune, and coagulation changes are valuable.
Outlook:
- Developing composite endotypes from these biomarkers can predict uncomplicated sepsis.
- These endotypes could guide safe antibiotic discontinuation in sepsis patients.
- Further research can refine biomarker panels for clinical decision support.
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