t Heinz Red and Gunther Sch ag Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Vienna, Austria The word "sepsis" derives from the Greek meaning decay or rottenness. Tradition ally this term has been used to describe the process of infection accompanied by the host's systemic inflammatory response. Based on that understanding, previous clin ical studies have been designed to include only patients with positive blood cultures 1, 2]. However, the frequent occurrence of a septic response without the demon stration of microorganisms in the circulation has led to a new...

An interdisciplinary approach to examining the role of cytokines in the development of sepsis and multiple organ failure. The contributions explore all aspects of two growth factors, interleukin I and interleukin VI, as far as these molecules trigger the pathological process.

These eight volumes, which developed out of the international con- gress "Update and Future Trends in Fibrin Sealing in Surgical and Nonsurgical Fields" held in November 1992, attempt to present the state of the art concerning fibrin sealing. Initially fibrin sealant played an important role in surgery. During the past few years, however, it has been increasingly used in nonsurgical applications, and we can now say that it has become a component of medicine in general. The doubts about the efficacy of fibrin sealant, which had been raised by nonusers, are no longer valid. The correct...

The First Wiggers Bernard Conference on Shock, Sepsis, and Organ Failure was envisaged as a meeting of American and European Scientists. It was named after two researchers, one from the "Old" and one from the "New World," who are wellknown for their outstanding achievements in shock research and experimental medicine. This meeting was a point of de parture for a series of workshops that will focus on two to three main topics dealt with in detail by experts in their respective fields. The First Wiggers Bernard Conference addressed three main questions: 1. Multi-organ-failure - is it a sequence...

The Wiggers Bernard Conferences, named after two great physiologists of the past, are an nual gatherings of the leaders in the field of shock. The meetings focus on specific areas of which appears to be showing the most advancement during the previous year. There are se veral types of sessions; informal presentations during which the seminarian can be intenup ted in order to clarify a particular point; formal discussions follow each presentation; these are followed by informal gatherings in which these discussions continue during meals and libation in a very relaxed environment. The 1990...

Die pathophysiologischen Ver nderungen nach einer Lungenkontusion, die lokal in der Lunge selbst, aber auch systemisch, d.h. im gesamten K rper ablaufen, sind deshalb von besonderem Interesse, da die Lungenkontusion die Bedrohlichkeit eines Verletzungsmusters quoad vitam immer verst rkt, die Komplikationsdichte vermehrt und f r eine besondere Vulnerabilit t sorgt. Diese Arbeit bietet eine Darstellung der pathophysiologischen Grundmechanismen der Lungenkontusion. Eine ausf hrliche historische Aufarbeitung der Lungenkontusionsforschung und eine umfassende Darstellung aller bekannten...

International experts examine the role of nitric oxide in various metabolic events such as septic shock, cardiovascular dysfunction, and trauma and hemorrhagic shock. The nitric oxide pathway and nitric oxide synthesis regulation are also discussed.

A report on new findings involving the brain in traumatic and septic shock, and after brain injury. Adopting an experimental and clinical approach to treatment, the book presents specific results obtained from the encephalogram and from histopathological study with regard to the immunohistochemistry of toxic lipid peroxidant products. It also includes the latest results of clinical and experimental pathophysiology in inflammatory processes after traumatic brain injury and the therapeutic effects of hypertonic fluid therapy.

At the Sixth Wiggers Bernard Conference, a group of scientists from various disciplines discussed new findings relating to nitric oxide synthase inhibitor in shock, sepsis, and organ failure. Dedicated to the presentation and discussion of both positive and negative findings related to the use of NOS inhibitors, the meeting served as a forum for issues relating to specific and non-specific inhibitors, as well as the role of nitric oxide-oxygen radical interactions. Both experimental and clinical data were presented in the trauma and sepsis field.

In this book current knowledge of the pathophysiology of shock, sepsis and multi organ failure is presented. The rapid progress which has been made and the results achieved in intensive care medicine are based on sound basic research, which is duly reflected in these chapters. Multiorgan failure is the foremost cause of postoperative and posttraumatic death and many complex mechanisms are involved. Only with a good foundation of basic research can abnormalities in the physiological, biochemical, and morphological course of shock be recognized and the necessary conclusions for treatment drawn....