The History of Biomarkers: How Far Have We Come?

Sepsis is one of the oldest and most elusive syndromes in medicine that is still incompletely understood. Biomarkers may help to transform sepsis from a physiologic syndrome to a group of distinct biochemical disorders. This will help to differentiate between systemic inflammation of infectious and noninfectious origin and aid therapeutic decision making, hence improve the prognosis for patients, guide antimicrobial therapy, and foster the development of novel adjunctive sepsis therapies. To reach this goal requires increased systematic investigation that includes twenty-first century scientific approaches and technologies and appropriate clinical evaluation.