Sepsis and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation: Pathophysiological and Interventional Concepts

Gram-negative septicaemia is a frequent complication following major surgery in high-risk patients and is a serious condition. Its mortality ranges from 40% to 60%, a rate which has remained unchanged in the past few decades, despite advances in general intensive medical care, modern antibiotic treatment, and new intervention modalities for the treatment of diffuse intravascular coagulation (DIC). This may be partly due to the increasing age of the general population and the increasing number of major surgical interventions in the elderly.