Monitoring the response to injury

Tissue trauma leads to a severity-dependent activation of plasma and cellular systems. This response can be recorded by determining parameters which represent the activation state of these systems. In severely injured patients with multiple trauma three out of 14 parameters measured at the time of admission proved to be indicators of subsequent septic complications with a high degree of accuracy: Fibrinopeptide A (FPA — the first split product of fibrinogen), the C3 split product C3a, and the elastase-α1 proteinase inhibitor-complex (Eα1 PI).