Immunological Screening and Immunotherapy in Critically ill Patients with Abdominal Infections

Over two decades an abundance of knowledge has been accumulated focus­ ing on the understanding of the molecular and cellular pathomechanisms of stressful conditions like systemic inflammation and sepsis. We have learned that there is a clear correlation between the magnitude of the inciting traumatic event and the degree of inflammatory dysbalance. The immunoinflammatory disintegration comprises a simultaneous col­ lapse of the otherwise very smoothly balanced pro- and antiinflammatory vectors