British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2001, Vol. 86, No. 6 746-749
© 2001 The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia
Editorial |
Editorial II
A momentary pause...
In 1895, John Collins Warren, who previously had demonstrated ether anaesthesia, described sepsis as ‘a momentary pause in the act of death’. Since that time, little progress has been made to decrease the nearly 40% mortality associated with sepsis syndrome and septic shock. Sepsis syndrome is an increasingly prevalent clinical problem, which faces intensivists and anaesthetists. Mortality associated with this syndrome is high, thought to be 40–50%. There are approximately 1.5 million cases of sepsis each year in developed countries, with 750 000 cases per year in the USA alone.1 2 The increasing incidence of this syndrome results from a number of factors, including increased use of immunosuppressive agents, a larger elderly population undergoing surgical procedures, and the development of antibiotic resistance. Although many sepsis patients undergo surgical procedures, little is known about optimal intraoperative management. In this issue, Allaouchiche and colleagues found that sevoflurane MAC was significantly decreased
Pathophysiology of sepsis
Clinical trials
Sepsis and the coagulation system
Sepsis, the lung and mechanical ventilation
Note added in proof
References