Recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin improves mortality and respiratory dysfunction in patients with severe sepsis

• Published in: The journal of trauma and acute care surgery Vol. 72; no. 5; p. 1150
• Main Authors: Ogawa, Yoshihito, Yamakawa, Kazuma, Ogura, Hiroshi, Kiguchi, Takeyuki, Mohri, Tomoyoshi, Nakamori, Yasushi, Kuwagata, Yasuyuki, Shimazu, Takeshi, Hamasaki, Toshimitsu, Fujimi, Satoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.05.2012
• Subjects: Aged; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation - complications; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation - drug therapy; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation - mortality; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Incidence; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Prognosis; Recombinant Proteins; Respiratory Insufficiency - drug therapy; Respiratory Insufficiency - epidemiology; Respiratory Insufficiency - etiology; Retrospective Studies; Sepsis - complications; Sepsis - drug therapy; Sepsis - mortality; Survival Rate - trends; Thrombomodulin - administration & dosage; Thrombomodulin - therapeutic use; Japan
• ISSN: 2163-0763
• DOI: 10.1097/TA.0b013e3182516ab5

Respiratory dysfunction associated with severe sepsis is a serious condition leading to poor prognosis. Activation of coagulation is a consequence of and contributor to ongoing lung injury in severe sepsis. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (rhTM), a novel anticoagulant agent, for treating patients with sepsis-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in terms of mortality and respiratory dysfunction. This study comprised 86 consecutive patients with sepsis-induced DIC who required ventilator management. The initial 45 patients were treated without rhTM (control group), and the following 41 patients were given rhTM (0.06 mg/kg/d) for 6 days (rhTM group). Patients were followed up for 90 days after study entry. Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score and lung injury score were recorded until 7 days after entry. The baseline characteristic of severity of illness was significantly higher in the rhTM group than in the control group. Nevertheless, 90-day mortality rate in the rhTM group was significantly lower than that in the control group (37% vs. 58%, p = 0.038). There was a significant difference in the serial change of SOFA score from baseline to day 7 between the two groups (p = 0.009). Both the respiratory component of the SOFA score and the lung injury score in the rhTM group were significantly lower compared with the control group (p = 0.034 and p < 0.001, respectively). rhTM may have a significant beneficial effect on mortality and respiratory dysfunction in patients with sepsis-induced DIC. III, therapeutic study.