Optimization of Preclinical Rodent Research Models of Human Shock: Part One Intra-Abdominal Sepsis

Preclinical models using animals are crucial for medical advancements despite their limitations and criticisms. Critical illnesses like sepsis, trauma, and burns remain huge causes of morbidity and mortality despite medical advances, and human studies may not always be feasible. In this part one of two reviews about animal models for critical illness, we discuss sepsis and the considerations one should take to optimize the rodent sepsis model. There are multiple models of sepsis used, each with advantages and disadvantages, and they can be modified to reflect how patients are treated in the hospital, including intensive care unit care. Patient factors such as age, sex, and comorbidities are important considerations given the different responses to sepsis. Aspects of sepsis that our patients encounter, including muscle and neurocognitive dysfunction, can be modeled to try and improve those aspects of outcomes. Choosing the right models for the question one is asking and optimizing that model is key to recapitulate the human condition to make animal models more translatable to humans. In other words, we suggest that, in lieu of abandoning animal models of sepsis, we seek to enhance translatability to the human condition.