The inflammatory/immune response in critical illness: role of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome

The inflammatory/immune response is designed to protect the body and limit the extent of injury. In the setting of critical illness, however, regulation of this exquisite response is often lost for reasons that remain to be elucidated. Loss of regulation combined with shock, infection, inflammation, and/or ischemia often leads to the development of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), which frequently is associated with the development of septic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), multiple organ dysfunction (MODS), and other complications of critical illness.