Citation

Fosse E, Pillgram-Larsen J, Svennevig JL, Nordby C, Skulberg A, Mollnes TE, Abdelnoor M. Injury 1998; 29(7): 509-514.

Affiliation

Department of Surgery, Ullevål Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10193492

Abstract

In order to study the factors related to complement activation, the complement activation products C3bc and TCC were measured in plasma at admittance and during the stay in the intensive care unit in 108 consecutive patients with multiple injuries. These patients were admitted to the surgical department during a 4-month period. Complement activation occurred immediately after the trauma and correlated strongly with the Injury Severity Score and was inversely correlated to the Base Excess. Complement activation also correlated with the number of transfusions. Sepsis caused complement activation later during the stay in hospital. All seven patients developing the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) had increased complement activation, either on admission or later during the stay in the intensive care unit. Complement activation is known to contribute to organ damage following ischemia and reperfusion. Clinical studies have demonstrated the importance of early restoration of adequate circulation and the present demonstration of a strong negative correlation between complement activation and Base Excess indicates that early restoration of aerobic metabolism may reduce complement activation and the risk for organ dysfunction.

Language: en