SEPSIS, THE SYNDROME OF INFECTION COMPLICATED BY vital organ dysfunction, is a
medical emergency that affects more than 750 000 patients in the United States each year
and remains one of the world's leading causes of death. 1 Without prompt resuscitation,
antibiotics, and institution of life support, patients can quickly develop shock, multisystem
organ failure, and death. It is not surprising, therefore, that the main goal of care and of
research has been to reduce short-term mortality. Assuming a patient survives the initial …