A novel molecular biomarker diagnostic for the early detection of sepsis.

Sepsis is a complex immunological response to infection characterized by a sinusoidal pattern that represents early hyperinflammatory signals [1] followed by severe and protracted immunosuppression, suggesting that a multimarker approach has the greatest clinical utility in early detection within a clinical environment focused on SIRS differentiation. Preclinical research using an equine endotoxemia model identified a panel of gene expression biomarkers that define the aberrant immune activity during early sepsis. Thus, the primary objective was to apply these gene expression biomarkers to distinguish patients with sepsis from those who had undergone major open surgery and had clinical outcomes consistent with systemic inflammation due to physical trauma and wound healing.