Use of extracorporeal supportive techniques as additional treatment for septic-induced multiple organ failure patients.

We compared retrospectively four similar groups of patients with multiple organ failure (MOF) due to sepsis. All of them were treated initially with conventional therapy, aprotinin as protease inhibitor and vitamin C with allopurinol as possible scavengers of oxygen-free radicals, were also added. After 24 h of no clinical progress, continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration (CAVH), CAVH/dialysis (CAVH/D), and sequential plasmafilter-dialysis with slow continuous hemofiltration (CAVHP/D) were respectively added to groups 2 (n = 14), 3 (n = 6), and 4 (n = 11). Mortality was 87% for group 1, 71% for group 2, 50% for group 3, and 36% for group 4. In the latter we were able to remove possible MOF-inducing mediators from the bloodstream, to give fluids without restriction (even in oliguric patients), and to improve removal of metabolic waste products. It is possible that these extracorporeal supports, associated with conventional therapy, and pharmacologic drugs such as protease inhibitors and possible scavengers of oxygen-free radicals, helped to reduce the mortality rate. We conclude that, although the number of study patients was too small to reach firm conclusions, the good results observed with CAVHP/D suggest clinical trials to assess the efficacy of this technique.