We enrolled 302 patients (survival (S) group: 201, nonsurvival (NS) group: 101) in whom PMX-DHP had been performed for severe sepsis and septic shock from 1994 to 2010. These patients were allocated into two groups: those who survived for at least 28 days after the start of PMX-DHP therapy (S group: 201 patients) and those who did not (NS group: 101 patients). Background factors (age, gender, APACHE II scores, sepsis-related organ failure assessment score, Goris multiple organ failure (MOF) score), hemodynamics (blood pressure, PaO2/FiO2 ratio, catecholamine requirement), inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1ra), endothelial-related markers (PAI-1, ELAM-1) and procalcitonin levels were examined in each group.