Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and soluble receptor complexes comprising the extramembrane portion of the TNF receptor coupled with the Fc portion of the human IgG1 molecule have been utilized as therapies for severe sepsis and septic shock. Over 5000 patients have been entered into clinical studies utilizing these two anti-TNF approaches, but no clear benefit in reducing mortality has been shown with such therapies. Although subgroups of infected patients, such as those with elevations in circulating IL-6, appeared to have improved outcome with anti-TNF therapies, no large study has prospectively confirmed such an effect. As a whole, the results for the anti-TNF clinical trials do not provide strong support for this therapeutic approach in broad groups of critically ill patients with sepsis.
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Abraham, E. Anti-TNF Therapies. Sepsis 3, 47–50 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009875126060
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009875126060