Sepsis biomarkers in polytrauma patients.

Despite continual advances in medical care and injury prevention efforts, traumatic injury remains a leading cause of death of Americans with these deaths occurring in a tri-modal pattern. The early phases of this pattern are characterized by immune activation whereas the last phase is marked by profound immune dysfunction. It is during this last phase that many trauma patients die of septic complications pointing to a dire need for a specific biomarker for post-traumatic infection. This article discusses several biomarkers, including emerging ones, for infection and sepsis following trauma including inflammatory cytokines, intracellular proteins, and cellular biomarkers.