Conclusion
ICU patients have defects in various host defence mechanisms. The significance of these defects remains unclear, as conflicting results are reported in the literature. The good correlation between impaired cellular-immunity or chemotaxis and septic complications is not necessarily a causal one, but rather an epiphenomenon. Determination of host defence mechanisms in ICU patients is therefore mainly of scientific value, since patients' management is rarely influenced by the result of such tests. With new and more efficient therapeutic techniques, such as substitution of decreased host defence factors of immune stimulation, assessment of host defence mechanisms may gain increased clinical relevance.
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Zimmerli, W. Impaired host defence mechanisms in intensive care unit patients. Intensive Care Med 11, 174–178 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00272398
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00272398