Plasma fibronectin is initially decreased during septicemia

Plasma fibronectin (PFN) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in 24 normals and serially in 24 septic patients without underlying major trauma. All patients responded promptly to antibiotic therapy and none developed signs of shock or disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). After an initial decrease in PFN registered in most of the septic patients, the levels were normalized within 2 weeks of antibiotic treatment. The mean nadir levels of PFN were decreased (p less than 0.001) both in patients with gram-negative and gram-positive etiologies compared to the control group. Furthermore, the mean PFN value of the gram-positive group was lower (p less than 0.05) than that of the gram-negative group. It is concluded that a transient depletion of PFN is a constant finding in septic patients with a favourable outcome and that a single low PFN level alone does not justify fibronectin replacement therapy nor does it indicate a poor prognosis.