Apoptotic cell death in patients with sepsis, shock, and multiple organ dysfunction

RS Hotchkiss, PE Swanson, BD Freeman… - Critical care …, 1999 - journals.lww.com
Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine whether apoptosis is a major
mechanism of cell death in patients with sepsis. The activities of caspase-3 and the
antiapoptotic protein, BCL-2, were investigated also. Design A prospective study of 20
patients who died of sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction was performed. The control
group of 16 patients consisted of critically ill, nonseptic patients who were evaluated either
prospectively [7] or retrospectively [9]. In addition, normal colon sections from seven patients …