Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome: literature review

Dainius Misevičius1, Ignas Floreskul1, Jokūbas Vitkus1

1 Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Academy of Medicine, Kaunas, Lithuania

 Abstract

Sepsis is one of the leading causes of death in the world. According to some authors, about 11 million people worldwide die from sepsis each year, which is about 20% of all deaths. There has long been no consensus on the exact definition of sepsis. According to recent recommendations, sepsis is defined as a life-threatening condition that develops due to an inadequate response to the infection. Usually, several organ systems are involved. The last stage of sepsis is multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Aim: to summarize and provide up-to-date information on the relevance of multiple organ failure syndrome peculiarities of the clinic, diagnostics, treatment of patients, and future prospects. Method: literature search in scientific electronic databases PubMed, ScienceDirect, UpToDate. Full-text articles were used for analysis. Publications were selected by keywords: “sepsis”, “multiple organ dysfunction”, “multiple organ failure”. Results of the study revealed that no specific treatment has yet been discovered, and mortality from sepsis remains high. It has also been established that the aim is to elucidate a more precise pathogenetic mechanism and to create new therapeutic prevention and treatment options. Conclusions: 1. The assessment of damage to different organ systems is individual, so rating scales help in the classification of damage. The principles of diagnosis of the relevant organ system shall be followed in the examination of organ damage. Biological markers to better predict the course of sepsis are being investigated, but they are not yet used in clinical practice. 2. The treatment applied in MODS is based on the general principles: correction of fluid balance, inhibition of inflammation, artificial ventilation, hemodialysis, and other methods aimed at the correction and compensation of impaired function. New therapies directly targeting the pathogenesis of sepsis are still under investigation. 3. The main and most commonly used are SOFA, MODS, and LODS scales. The SOFA scale is most commonly used in clinical work to assess and determine the risk of patient mortality.

Keywords: multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, multiple organ failure, sepsis, sepsis diagnostic, sepsis treatment.