Sepsis Clinical Trials

Fluids are one of the most common treatments given to patients in the hospital. Fluids are especially important in treating patients with sepsis. Multiple clinical studies have compared the two main types of fluids used in sepsis (normal saline and balanced crystalloids). However, these studies have not found a clear benefit of one type of fluid versus the other. Which fluid should be given to which patient is an essential question because of the ubiquity of this intervention. Even a small difference in mortality could drastically change the standards of care given the national (and worldwide) scale of this intervention. The investigators have developed an algorithm that uses bedside vital signs (temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure) to identify a group of patients (Group D) who have a significant mortality benefit from balanced crystalloids. The study randomizes adult patients admitted through emergency departments across 6 Emory hospitals belonging to Group D to intervention versus usual care. The intervention arm involves a prompt to clinicians to use balanced crystalloids rather than normal saline. Read Less

Adverse outcomes in surgical sepsis patients are secondary to dysregulated emergency myelopoiesis, and expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Here we propose to determine the underlying mechanisms behind the increased expansion of these leukocyte populations and the underlying mechanisms that drive inflammation and immune suppression. Read Less

The goal of this observational study is to learn about how transposable element levels affect the patient outcomes in sepsis. The main questions it aims to answer is: 1. Do transposable elements prematurely age the immune systems of patients with sepsis? 2. Do transposable elements correlate with increased mortality in patients with sepsis in the ICU? 3. Do transposable elements correlate with increased amount of secondary infections in patients with sepsis in the ICU? Participants will have blood drawn from them but will not be subjected to additional interventions. Read Less

The overall purpose of this protocol is to identify subacute sepsis-associated cardiac disease in pediatric patients with cancer by CMR and evaluate the CMR findings during their follow-up. This will help inform heart failure management decision making. Evidence of dysfunction or elevated T2 values may inform adjustment of afterload reduction and beta blocker administration, and elevated ECV findings will suggest the need for increased surveillance for diastolic dysfunction. Primary Objectives: (Feasibility Phase) To determine the feasibility of cardiac MRI without anesthesia in the immediate post-sepsis period in children with cancer. CMR scanning will be completed within 10 days of presentation - this will allow us to ensure that possible hemodynamic or respiratory instability and renal dysfunction has resolved prior to transport to the MRI scanner during the most acute phase of illness. (Completion Phase) To estimate the frequency of subacute sepsis-associated cardiac disease, including myocardial inflammation and dysfunction, in the post-acute phase (within 10 days of presentation) of severe sepsis in children with cancer Read Less

This is a research study to determine if a particular method of providing nutrition improves the clinical outcomes of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) who have undergone abdominal surgery and would require nutrition delivered via the bloodstream (called total parenteral nutrition or TPN). The nutrition method we are testing is a structured nutrition delivery plan that involves tube feeding, oral nutrition supplements, and the use of a device (called an indirect calorimeter or IC) to measure calorie needs. This study will also use two devices to measure fat and muscle mass to examine changes during hospitalization. Subjects will be followed throughout hospitalization where nutrition status and fat and muscle mass will be closely monitored. Study activities will begin within 72 hours of a patient's abdominal surgery. TPN (total parenteral nutrition, a method of feeding that bypasses the usual process of eating and digestion) will be started, a non-invasive method of assessing calorie needs (indirect calorimetry (IC)) will be started, a urine sample will be collected to help assist in protein needs, and fat/muscle mass will be measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and an ultrasound. This is a minimal risk study and all products/devices used are non-invasive and FDA-approved. Indirect calorimetry and urine sample collection will be conducted every 3 days during the stay in the Intensive Care Unit - ICU, then every 5 days until hospital discharge. BIA and muscle ultrasound will be conducted every 7 days during ICU stay, then every 14 days until hospital discharge. Read Less

The long-term goal is to test the clinical efficacy of senolytic therapies to reduce progression to and severity of sepsis in older patients. The central hypothesis is that a threshold burden of SnCs predisposes to a SASP mediated dysfunctional response to PAMPs, contributing to a disproportionate burden of sepsis in older patients. The study hypothesizes timely treatment with fisetin will interrupt this pathway. A multicenter, randomized, adaptive allocation clinical trial to identify the most efficacious dose of the senolytic fisetin to reduce the composite cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal sequential organ failure assessment score at 1 week, and predict the probability of success of a definitive phase III clinical trial. Read Less

In this research study we want to learn more about the characteristics of neutrophils that are present in the blood and secretions from a breathing tube of patients with sepsis. Sepsis is a severe type of infection, affecting various parts of the body. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that are part of the body's immune system. Even though neutrophils are important in getting rid of germs, they also may be harmful to parts of the body by causing injury in the lungs in patients with sepsis. Neutrophils can change their character in sepsis. Because of this, it is important for doctors to know what kind of neutrophils are in the blood and secretions from the breathing tube of patients with sepsis so that they can work to develop therapies to prevent these cells from being harmful. Read Less

In this research study we want to learn more about the character of neutrophils that are present in the blood of children with sepsis. Sepsis is a severe type of infection, affecting various parts of the body. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that are part of the body's immune system. Even though neutrophils are important in getting rid of germs, they also may be harmful to parts of the body by causing injury in organs in patients with sepsis. Neutrophils can change their character in sepsis. Because of this, it is important for doctors to know what kind of neutrophils are in the blood of children with sepsis so that they can work to develop therapies to prevent these cells from being harmful. Read Less

A pre/post interventional use trial, with ED patients who are initially triaged to locations other than a dedicated patient room in the main ED (e.g., waiting room, hallway bed, and/or the staging area/fast track area) with suspected infection and tachycardia or fever will be enrolled. Study conduct will be performed under an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Participants in the pre-phase, treated with standard of care, will be gathered from a retrospective database using propensity matching, whereas participants in the post-phase will be managed incorporating the TriVerity™ Acute Infection and Sepsis Test results with standardized guidance for interpretation and resulting management actions. Many outcomes will be captured and compared between the pre- and post-phase phases including sepsis bundle compliance, patient disposition, appropriate use of antimicrobials (antibiotics and antivirals) and health economic findings. Safety measures for participants in the post-phase will include patient follow-up at predefined time points. The objective is to demonstrate improvement of patient management when incorporating the TriVerity Test result compared to standard of care. Improvements based on diagnostic (bacterial vs viral vs non-infectious inflammation) and prognostic (need for 7-day ICU level care) readouts of the TriVerity Test result will be tracked. Read Less

The goal of this observational study is to better understand what happens to circulating blood after a patient experiences severe trauma injury. The main questions it aims to answer are: Is severe human trauma associated with specific patterns of development in the hematopoietic stem cells of these patients? and Does the initial severe trauma injury create immunosuppression and increase risk of in-hospital sepsis? Participants in study will give blood samples and a waste sample of bone marrow at time of operative repair of traumatic orthopedic injuries, supply medical information and participate in surveys and assessments during recovery from their injury(ies). Researchers will compare severe trauma injury patients to elective hip repair patients to see if immunosuppression and specific development patterns occur in the trauma patient versus the otherwise healthy hip surgery patient. Read Less

The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate how early biomarkers of infection and inflammation perform in identifying patients at risk for poor outcome in sepsis and septic shock. Read Less

The goal of this quasi-experimental interventional study is to determine the effectiveness of a multifaceted stewardship intervention in reducing overall vancomycin use in five tertiary care Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU). There are two groups of subjects in this study: PICU clinicians/sepsis stakeholders and patients admitted to one of the participating PICUs during the study period. The intervention will at a minimum include: * Implementation of a clinical guideline indicating when vancomycin should and should not be used * Unit-level feedback on overall vancomycin use within and across centers * Clinician education. Read Less