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Review
. 2022 Apr;38(2):195-211.
doi: 10.1016/j.ccc.2021.11.013.

Subtypes and Mimics of Sepsis

John A Kellum  1 , Cassandra L Formeck  2 , Kate F Kernan  3 , Hernando Gómez  4 , Joseph A Carcillo  3
Affiliations
Review

Subtypes and Mimics of Sepsis

John A Kellum et al. Crit Care Clin. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Sepsis is a heterogenous and imprecise syndrome that includes multiple phenotypes, some of which are amenable to specific therapies. Developing new therapies for sepsis will require focusing on subsets of patients. Key to improving care is evaluating patients for sepsis mimics and treatable diseases whose manifestations lead to a clinical classification of sepsis. Because sepsis is common, it is easy to overlook unusual causes of organ failure and succumb to confirmation bias about the nature of an illness. Careful attention to medical and family histories, focused diagnostic testing, and subspecialty input can help identify potentially treatable diseases masquerading as typical sepsis.

Keywords: Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome; Blood purification; Endotoxemia; Endotoxin; Macrophage activation syndrome; Polymyxin B.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure J.A. Kellum discloses grant support and consulting fees from Astute Medical/BioMerieux and Baxter and currently is a full-time employee of Spectral Medical. H. Gómez discloses grant support and consulting fees from BioMerieux. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
The spectrum of organ failure seen in sepsis.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Pathogenesis of MAS. IFNg, interferon gamma; Th-1, type 1 helper T cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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