Die Sepsis ist noch immer eines der bedrohlichsten Krankheitsbilder der modernen Medizin
mit einer hohen Mortalitätsrate. Das zunehmende Wissen um die Komplexität und Heterogenität
der
septischen Immunpathologie kann Wege eröffnen, zukünftig Sepsispatienten individueller
– und somit erfolgreicher – behandeln zu können. Dieser Beitrag stellt den aktuellen
Kenntnisstand der
Pathophysiologie der Sepsis und des septischen Schocks dar.
Abstract
Up to now, sepsis is one of the most threatening diseases and its therapy remains
challenging. Sepsis is currently defined as a severely dysregulated immune response
to an infection
resulting in organ dysfunction. The pathophysiology is mainly driven by exogenous
PAMPs (“pathogen-associated molecular patterns”) and endogenous DAMPs (“damage-associated
molecular
patterns“), which can activate PRRs (“pattern recognition receptors”) on different
cell types (mainly immune cells), leading to the initiation of manifold downstream
pathways and a
perpetuation of patients’ immune response. Sepsis is neither an exclusive pro- nor
an anti-inflammatory disease: both processes take place in parallel, resulting in
an individual immunologic
disease state depending on the severity of each component at different time points.
Septic shock is a complex disorder of the macro- and microcirculation, provoking a
severe lack of
oxygenation further aggravating sepsis defining organ dysfunctions. An in-depth knowledge
of the heterogeneity and the time-dependency of the septic immunopathology will be
essential for the
design of future sepsis trials and therapy planning in patients with sepsis. The big
aim is to achieve a more individualized treatment strategy in patients suffering from
sepsis or septic
shock.
Schlüsselwörter
Sepsis - septischer Schock - Inflammation - COVID-19