Effect of Pentoxifylline on Organ Dysfunction and Mortality in Severe Sepsis

Abstract

epsis is one of the leading causes of death world-wide. In septic patients, TNF-α is the first pro-inflammatory cytokine that is released, followed by IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8. TNF-α, and IL-1 are the most important proinflammatory cytokines; they are biologically closely related, act synergistically, and are largely responsible for the clinical manifestation of sepsis. PTX enhances anti-inflammatory activity and decreases mortality in acute endotoxemia. PTX may be an important adjunct to therapies aiming to modulate the inflammatory response in sepsis. We conducted this study to assess the therapeutic efficiency of PTX as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of severe sepsis and its effect in multiple organ dysfunction and mortality in the intensive care unit (ICU). Our results showed that the SOFA score was numerically lower in the PTX group than the control group, however, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.655). Regarding the lactate level, our results showed no significant difference between the PTX group and the control group (p= 0.58). Our results showed that the PTX group and the control group were comparable in terms of CRP level (p= 0.740) and procalcitonin level (p=0.71). With regard to secondary outcomes, there were no statistically significant differences between study groups in terms of length of hospital stay (p =0.707), need for HD (p =0.541), need for vasopressor and inotropic (p =0.249), and need for MV (p =0.703). Regarding mortality rate, our results showed no