The acute phase response has a crucial role in mounting the body’s response to tissue injury. Excessive activation of the acute phase response is responsible for many complications that occur in orthopedic patients. Given that infection may be considered continuous tissue injury that persistently activates the acute phase response, children with musculoskeletal infections are at markedly increased risk for serious complications. Future strategies that modulate the acute phase response have the potential to improve treatment and prevent complications associated with musculoskeletal infection.
Key points
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The acute phase response is the physiologic reaction to tissue injury, such as musculoskeletal infection, trauma, and orthopedic surgery.
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Although trauma and orthopedic surgery are temporally isolated injuries, musculoskeletal infection is a continuous injury that leads to exuberant activation of the acute phase response that persists until the infection resolves.
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The acute phase response to musculoskeletal infection is paradoxic, as it is not only necessary to combat infection and repair damaged tissue, but also responsible for many of the associated complications.
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Given the interplay between musculoskeletal infection and the acute phase response, measuring positive and negatively regulated acute phase reactants has been useful in diagnosing and monitoring patients with musculoskeletal infection.
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Future strategies that modulate the acute phase response have the potential to improve treatment and prevent complications associated with musculoskeletal infection.
Introduction
Musculoskeletal infection represents a challenging disease process for orthopedic surgeons that poses significant health care costs and carries a high potential for morbidity and mortality. The most common pathogens of the musculoskeletal system express virulence factors that lead to a tropism, or selectivity , for damaged and regenerating tissue. As developing and regenerative tissue share many overlapping features (eg, growth factors and angiogenesis), there is an increased prevalence of infection in children as compared with adults, even in the absence of injury. Only recently in orthopedics, the burden and mortality of musculoskeletal infection has been surpassed by other pathologies. In the pre-antibiotic era, the mortality rate of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis in children was upward of 50% due to overwhelming sepsis and metastatic abscesses. The advent of antibiotics and the capacity to perform debridement of infected tissue has tremendously impacted the outcome of these patients and in the modern era mortality rates from pediatric musculoskeletal infection in the United States have dropped significantly.
Nevertheless, although most pediatric musculoskeletal infections are effectively treated and resolve without complications, severe infections continue to cause devastating complications. For example, without timely treatment, septic arthritis of the hip and severe osteomyelitis may lead to avascular necrosis, pathologic fracture, growth arrest, and even amputation. Disseminated infections have the potential to cause venous and arterial thromboembolic disease and septic shock. In extreme infections, such as necrotizing fasciitis, mortality rates in epidemiologic studies have been recorded as high as 76%. Moreover, the incidence of musculoskeletal infection has increased in recent years due to a number of factors, including the rising prevalence of diseases such as diabetes and obesity, which impair the immune system.
In addition, the pharmacologic basis of antibiotic therapy is overwhelmingly based on disrupting microbial genetic machinery, such as cell wall and protein synthesis. As microbial genetics evolve, drug-resistant pathogens, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are increasingly common and often more difficult to treat. Without the development of novel antibiotics capable of countering these organisms’ genetic adaptations, the tremendous gains against musculoskeletal infection of the past century may be short-lived.
Introduction
Musculoskeletal infection represents a challenging disease process for orthopedic surgeons that poses significant health care costs and carries a high potential for morbidity and mortality. The most common pathogens of the musculoskeletal system express virulence factors that lead to a tropism, or selectivity , for damaged and regenerating tissue. As developing and regenerative tissue share many overlapping features (eg, growth factors and angiogenesis), there is an increased prevalence of infection in children as compared with adults, even in the absence of injury. Only recently in orthopedics, the burden and mortality of musculoskeletal infection has been surpassed by other pathologies. In the pre-antibiotic era, the mortality rate of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis in children was upward of 50% due to overwhelming sepsis and metastatic abscesses. The advent of antibiotics and the capacity to perform debridement of infected tissue has tremendously impacted the outcome of these patients and in the modern era mortality rates from pediatric musculoskeletal infection in the United States have dropped significantly.
Nevertheless, although most pediatric musculoskeletal infections are effectively treated and resolve without complications, severe infections continue to cause devastating complications. For example, without timely treatment, septic arthritis of the hip and severe osteomyelitis may lead to avascular necrosis, pathologic fracture, growth arrest, and even amputation. Disseminated infections have the potential to cause venous and arterial thromboembolic disease and septic shock. In extreme infections, such as necrotizing fasciitis, mortality rates in epidemiologic studies have been recorded as high as 76%. Moreover, the incidence of musculoskeletal infection has increased in recent years due to a number of factors, including the rising prevalence of diseases such as diabetes and obesity, which impair the immune system.
In addition, the pharmacologic basis of antibiotic therapy is overwhelmingly based on disrupting microbial genetic machinery, such as cell wall and protein synthesis. As microbial genetics evolve, drug-resistant pathogens, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are increasingly common and often more difficult to treat. Without the development of novel antibiotics capable of countering these organisms’ genetic adaptations, the tremendous gains against musculoskeletal infection of the past century may be short-lived.
Acute phase response: the double-edged sword in orthopedics
Damage to musculoskeletal tissue initiates a cascade of reactions that is collectively referred to as the acute phase response ( Fig. 1 ). This dramatic physiologic response has far-reaching effects, affecting the activity of nearly all organ systems through coagulation, inflammatory, and regenerative processes. The acute phase response typically occurs over a 6-week process following an isolated injury, such as trauma or elective surgery ( Fig. 2 ). (The acute phase response in response to a total knee arthroplasty is used in this review as a point of reference of an elective surgical procedure. It is a procedure familiar to most orthopedic surgeons and stimulates a well-described acute phase response to the brink of developing acute phase response–related complications.)
The acute phase response is a critical mechanism for humans to survive and recover from injury. An insufficient response leads to hemorrhage, infection, and impaired tissue regeneration. A decreased acute phase response may be observed in patients with cirrhosis, as the liver is the principal effector organ of the acute phase response . On the other hand, an excessive or prolonged acute phase response (see Fig. 2 A, B) is a major cause of systemic complications observed in orthopedics ( Fig. 3 A ), ranging from the relatively benign (nausea/pain) to more severe (coagulopathy, venous thromboembolism [VTE], systemic inflammatory response syndrome [SIRS]) and most severe (multiorgan failure [MOF] and death). As such, close monitoring of the acute phase response is the cornerstone concept of “damage control orthopedics.” Given that both trauma and orthopedic surgery elicit an acute phase response, the principle of damage control orthopedics is to perform more invasive surgical management such that their cumulative response does not push a patient into the threshold of more severe complications, such as SIRS, shock, MOF, or death ( Fig. 3 B, C). Furthermore, although this response has “acute” in the name, it is activated in the context of both acute and chronic inflammatory conditions. Chronic baseline activation of the acute phase response causes degeneration of musculoskeletal tissue in conditions such as osteoporosis. Additionally, elevated baseline activity of the acute phase response amplifies the response to an elective or traumatic injury, increasing the risk of complications in those patients. Therefore, the acute phase response as a whole may be viewed as a “double-edged sword,” because a well-coordinated acute phase response is essential for survival and recovery from tissue injury, but an excessive response may lead to devastating complications.
When infectious pathogens invade the body, bacterial proliferation and virulence factor expression cause damage to surrounding tissues. However, injury caused by a developing infection is dramatically different from isolated surgery or trauma in that it is continuous ( Fig. 4 ). As the infection propagates, tissue injury persists until it is resolved by the immune system, antibiotics, and/or surgical debridement (see Fig. 4 B). In essence, musculoskeletal infection may be considered continuous activation of the acute phase response, only halted by initiation of antibiotic therapy or surgical debridement. Patients with musculoskeletal infection often suffer from both greater peak and total acute phase response than a patient with a singular injury (see Fig. 4 C). This concept of continuous activation of the acute phase response provides rationale for why patients with musculoskeletal infection are at increased risk of suffering from clinical complications, such as thrombosis, and impaired tissue regeneration than those with an isolated, traumatic injury. Specifically, continuous activation of the acute phase response in patients with musculoskeletal infection leads to a markedly increased “area under the curve” for acute phase reactants such as C-reactive protein (CRP), which implies a significantly greater overall inflammatory response (see Fig. 4 C). As such, complications caused by musculoskeletal infection generally arise from either an excessive acute phase response (see Fig. 3 A) or complete exhaustion of one or more elements of the acute phase response (eg, disseminated intravascular coagulation).
In addition to systemic complications, an overly exuberant, or prolonged, acute phase response also has dire consequences on tissue regeneration. Tissue regeneration occurs in phases, beginning with coagulation to promote compartmentalization, followed by inflammation to kill pathogens, and finally progression to tissue proliferation and remodeling. The failure to proceed from one phase to the next prohibits normal tissue healing and recovery. For example, the failure to remove the coagulation matrix protein fibrin prevents angiogenesis and fracture repair. As an infection persists, the dynamic and coordinated progression of the acute phase response is lost in continuous activation without resolution. Thus, the acute phase response during a musculoskeletal infection is drastically different from that of trauma or isolated surgery and has a greater propensity for morbidity and mortality.
The paradox
Together, these concepts present a paradox for surgeons and health care providers caring for these patients. Many of the elements of the acute phase response are essential to combat and eliminate developing infections; however, in the process, this response may lead to many of the complications observed in patients suffering from infected musculoskeletal tissue (see Fig. 1 ).
Bacterial hijacking of the acute phase response
Pathogenic bacteria possess an arsenal of virulence factors that allow them to invade, persist, and disseminate within the human body ( Fig. 5 ). Co-evolution between pathogens and the acute phase response has led to bacterial manipulation of specific elements of the acute phase reactants, thereby enabling them to hijack the response. For example, the coagulation system serves as one of the initial defense mechanisms against bacterial invasion by immobilizing bacteria within clots and recruiting leukocytes to the site of infection through integrin expression on fibrin. The most well-known of the S aureus virulence factors is coagulase (Coa), which is secreted into the extracellular environment and activates the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin. This Coa-thrombin complex then catalyzes the cleavage of fibrinogen to fibrin, promoting the formation of protective abscess for the bacteria. This remarkable interaction between the host’s acute phase response and infection pathogenesis is an evolutionary battle that continues to the present day. Importantly, virulence factor expression differs significantly not only between species (eg, S aureus vs Kingella kingae ), but also among bacteria of a single species. In other words, a strain of S aureus with a greater arsenal of virulence factors should activate the acute phase response to a greater extent than a strain of S aureus with fewer virulence factors. Nevertheless, awareness of the interplay between the acute phase response and bacterial infection will aid in diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment of musculoskeletal infections.
Patient evaluation overview
Acute Phase Reactants: Marker of Infection Severity
Monitoring acute phase reactants has become common practice in many diseases that cause tissue damage. Even chronic diseases that cause significantly less tissue injury than acute or surgical trauma lead to baseline alterations in acute phase reactants. For example, coronary artery disease has been correlated with elevated CRP and fibrinogen, whereas cirrhosis leads to an attenuated acute phase response and decreased levels of CRP and albumin due to impaired hepatic protein synthesis. Acute phase reactants also correlate with prognosis in stroke and renal cell carcinoma.
Disease severity in musculoskeletal infection is similarly associated with elevations in acute phase reactants, as numerous models for assessing disease severity have relied heavily on acute phase reactants, such as CRP and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) ( Fig. 6 ). For example, CRP is included in prognostic and diagnostic models for patients with osteomyelitis. In addition, the “Kocher criteria” include ESR as a factor for diagnosing septic arthritis. Inflammatory markers have a crucial role in diagnosis, prognosis, and gauging response to treatment for musculoskeletal infections. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the acute phase response has the potential to improve orthopedic surgeons’ ability to interpret these laboratory markers in clinical settings.
Acute Phase Reactants
Thousands of proteins are upregulated and downregulated with activation of the acute phase response. By definition, proteins may be considered acute phase reactants only if they increase or decrease in quantity by greater than 25%, with most fluctuations mediated by changes in hepatic synthesis. The magnitude of change in serum concentration and time course for resolution for different acute phase reactants varies significantly, depending on their role in activating, sustaining, or resolving the acute phase response (see Fig. 4 C). With specific acute phase reactants, understanding the temporal relationship between the specific acute phase reactant and the pathogen-induced injury provides considerable diagnostic utility. For example, understanding that CRP is produced more rapidly in the liver than fibrinogen explains the increased utility in monitoring CRP as opposed to fibrinogen (or ESR, see later in this article) in the early diagnosis of infection (see Fig. 6 “Lab 1”) as compared with later in the infection (see Fig. 6 “Lab 2”). Additionally, serial monitoring acute phase reactants may provide valuable information regarding the efficacy of antibiotics and/or debridement by observing the change over time (see Fig. 6 compare “Lab 3” with “Lab 4”).
Interleukin-6
Interleukin (IL)-6 is the principal initiating factor in the acute phase response and is released by damaged tissue during infection (see Fig. 1 ). It is stored in musculoskeletal tissue and released immediately after injury, and therefore provides the earliest measurable response to tissue damage. IL-6 has been studied as a potential marker for assessing prognosis and guiding treatment in the setting of trauma, sepsis, and heart disease. However, there is limited literature describing its use in the context of musculoskeletal infection, likely because measurement of IL-6 has associated challenges, such as limited availability for testing in the clinical setting, short half-life in plasma, and absence of standardization. Currently, its measurement for gauging musculoskeletal infection severity is limited mainly to research settings.
C-reactive protein
CRP is produced by the liver in response to IL-6 and other cytokines. The origin of the name derives from C polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae . At a molecular level, CRP has several defined roles. For example, it has the capability to bind dying cells and/or bacterial pathogens and activate the complement system. In addition, CRP is able to activate monocytes and induce the release of inflammatory cytokines. In response to acute episodes of tissue injury, there are short but dramatic increases in the levels of serum CRP. In fact, it is one of the most drastically induced acute phase reactants, with levels increasing more than 100-fold in the immediate postinjury period. In addition, as one might expect, the magnitude of the increase in CRP correlates with the scale of tissue injury. In contrast to ESR and fibrinogen, which have long half-lives, CRP has a half-life of only 17 hours and levels increase within 4 to 6 hours of injury. Therefore, it can be used to track real-time responses to therapy and guide care for musculoskeletal infection (see Fig. 6 ).
Mild baseline elevations in CRP are seen in the context of chronic diseases, such as coronary artery disease and diabetes. On the other hand, markedly elevated CRP levels are more indicative of an acute inflammatory process, such as bacterial infection. Because of the correlation between CRP and tissue injury, CRP has been included in several prognostic and diagnostic models that help guide treatment in infection. One of these is the scoring system for assessment of severity of illness in the context of pediatric acute hematogenous osteomyelitis. In this model, osteomyelitis was stratified into mild, moderate, and severe categories based on objective clinical parameters. Not surprisingly, CRP values at admission, 48 hours, and 96 hours all significantly correlated with disease severity and outcomes, such as total length of stay. Other models have similarly used CRP as a marker of disease severity. For example, one prediction model that showed that children with a higher CRP at admission were more likely to develop complicated osteomyelitis and another prognostic model for pediatric musculoskeletal infection is dominated by CRP. CRP is also included in the Laboratory Risk Indicator for Necrotizing Fasciitis (LRINEC) score, as a CRP of greater than 150 mg/L in the system suggests an increased likelihood of necrotizing infection. Overall, the marked elevation of CRP in the setting of acute inflammation and its short half-life make it an effective marker for gauging infection severity and monitoring response in clinical settings. Notably, the units for CRP measurement may vary by institution by a factor of 10, with some hospitals reporting CRP in units of mg/dL, whereas others report in units of mg/L.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate/fibrinogen
The ESR is a simple, indirect measure for the acute phase response. The ESR measures the rate of descent of anticoagulated red blood cells in a vertical column in 1 hour. This measurement is influenced by numerous factors, the most important being the concentration of the acute phase reactant fibrinogen. Although ESR advanced medical science when introduced in the 1920s, it is often misleading because it is greatly influenced by immunoglobulins, plasma constituents, and changes to erythrocyte morphology and number. Thus, ESR is a less sensitive marker for the acute phase response than fibrinogen, an acute phase reactant. Nevertheless, out of convention, most clinicians continue to monitor and report ESR in studies.
Currently, elevated ESR is a key diagnostic criterion for several noninfectious diseases, including polymyalgia rheumatic and temporal arteritis, and is often used as an adjunct “severity index” in the context of infection. However, there are also several noninflammatory etiologies of elevated ESR, including anemia, pregnancy, obesity, and old age, making it a less-specific marker for infection or inflammation. Fibrinogen is a relatively late acute phase reactant with a long half-life. As such, ESR typically increases 24 to 48 hours after initiation of the acute phase response and decreases slowly with resolution of inflammation.
In the context of musculoskeletal infection, ESR has been used as a predictive marker for severity for several different disease processes. One study demonstrated an increased likelihood of diabetic foot osteomyelitis in the setting of appropriate symptoms and an ESR greater than 70 mm/h. In addition, ESR levels remain elevated for a prolonged period postinfection (up to 3 months), which has led authors to suggest using ESR for monitoring long-term recovery. In the context of pediatric musculoskeletal infections, ESR greater than 20 mm/h had 94% sensitivity for detecting musculoskeletal infection. Based on these studies, it is evident that an elevated ESR has been used effectively as a marker of infection severity, with a relatively high sensitivity as a potential screening index for musculoskeletal infection.
Procalcitonin
Procalcitonin, a peptide precursor of calcitonin, is another acute phase reactant that has been studied for use in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal infection. Although calcitonin is typically secreted by the parafollicular cells of the thyroid in response to hypercalcemia, the biological function of procalcitonin is unknown. Procalcitonin is synthesized in the neuroendocrine cells of the lungs and intestine in response to cytokines including IL-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. Serum concentrations are normally undetectable, but have been shown to increase 1000-fold in the setting of systemic bacterial infections. In the setting of sepsis, procalcitonin has also been shown to be useful in measuring treatment response, with a decline in its levels expected within 72 to 96 hours of treatment initiation.
Currently, there are few studies that examine the use of procalcitonin in the context of musculoskeletal infection. One meta-analysis based on these studies reports that a procalcitonin of less than 0.3 ng/mL suggests a low suspicion for infection, whereas a procalcitonin of greater than 0.5 ng/mL raises concern for infection. Interestingly, current studies suggest that procalcitonin may have several advantages over CRP as a marker of musculoskeletal infection severity. It increases earlier than CRP in response to IL-6, reaching half of its maximum value in 8 hours compared with 20 hours for CRP. It also has a shorter half-life, which means that its levels begin to fall earlier than CRP with the resolution of inflammation. Additionally, procalcitonin does not increase significantly in the context of viral or noninfectious pathology, potentially making it a more specific test than CRP in the setting of bacterial infection. In fact, Simon and colleagues found that procalcitonin is more accurate than CRP in differentiating infection from noninfection and bacterial infection from viral infection. Overall, procalcitonin appears to be a promising inflammatory marker, but further research is necessary to characterize its response in the setting of musculoskeletal infection.
Additional acute phase reactants
There are thousands of additional proteins modulated by the acute phase response. In addition to IL-6, several other inflammatory cytokines also act as initiators of the acute phase response, including transforming growth factor beta, interferon gamma, and TNF-alpha. These cytokines are produced predominantly by macrophages at sites of injury and inflammation, and have a similar role in stimulating the coagulant, inflammatory, and regenerative arms of the acute phase response.
Given the wide range of proteins influenced by the acute phase response, the hepatic response to tissue injury has far-reaching physiologic effects. Studies have demonstrated that inflammatory cytokines significantly impact the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, including leading to secretion of corticotropin-releasing hormone and increased cortisol production. This interaction with the body’s central hormonal regulation contributes to many of the systemic symptoms that are typically associated with inflammatory conditions such as infection.
Negatively regulated acute phase reactants
Although most proteins affected by the acute phase response are upregulated to propagate the acute phase response, there are many proteins whose production is inhibited in response to tissue injury. These are termed negative acute phase reactants, and include proteins such as albumin, transferrin, and transthyretin. Decreased production of these proteins may serve to divert resources toward synthesis of proteins directly involved in the acute phase response. In addition, the decrease in level of certain proteins may also have a proinflammatory effect. For example, transthyretin has be shown to inhibit IL-1 production by monocytes. Therefore, a decrease in production of transthyretin increases the inflammatory effects of IL-1, leading to fever and immune cell adhesion factor expression. Given their inverse relationship to the acute phase response, these proteins have the potential to be monitored as markers of the intensity of the acute phase response in the opposite manner of markers such as CRP and ESR. In the case of these negative acute phase reactants, marked decreases in plasma expression would be indicative of a more robust acute phase response.
Dysregulation of the Acute Phase Response
The acute phase response is crucial for clearing infection and healing damaged tissue through regulation of inflammatory, coagulant, and immune processes. However, dysregulation of the acute phase response has the potential to lead to severe complications related to these same processes, such as hypotension, septic shock, and coagulopathy (see Figs. 1 and 4 ). These complications are much more likely to occur in the context of severe, disseminated infections due to intense upregulation of the acute phase response.
Septic and toxin-mediated shock
One of the most severe complications of infection is shock, which carries a mortality of up to 20% in children. In musculoskeletal infection, this may occur due to septic shock or toxic shock syndrome. Toxic shock syndrome is most often caused by S aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes production of super antigens, such as toxic shock syndrome toxin and streptococcal superantigens, respectively. These toxins produced by S aureus and S pyogenes are structurally related and act by binding major histocompatibility complex II and T-cell receptors, leading to the widespread activation of antigen-presenting cells and T cells. This activation leads to the release of high systemic levels of cytokines such as TNF-alpha, TNF-beta, IL-1, and IL-2, thereby generating an overexuberant inflammatory response that is characterized by fever, hypotension, rash, and other systemic symptoms. Of these cytokines, TNF-alpha has been shown to be the most significant mediator of the shock response, and its inhibition has been shown to improve mean arterial pressure and survival in animal studies.
Septic shock results from a hyperinflammatory immune response due to overwhelming, systemic bacterial infection. Higher levels of acute phase reactants are indicative of worse prognosis and indicate the need for aggressive intervention. Interestingly, following intense activation of the acute phase response secondary to infection, many patients also experience a state of immunoparalysis due to a strong compensatory anti-inflammatory response. Studies have demonstrated that people who die of sepsis and MOF sometimes have immunohistochemical evidence of immunosuppression, with CD4, CD8, and HLA-DR depletion and decreased levels of IL-6, IL-10, and interferon gamma. This immunosuppression associated with septic shock is due to increased apoptosis of immune system cells, T-cell exhaustion, monocyte deactivation, and the regulatory effect of the central nervous system immune system. It is crucial to remember that acute phase response reactants and mediators are finite and may be depleted, leading to complications in the late stages of severe infections.
Coagulopathy
Severe cases of musculoskeletal infection have the potential to dysregulate the acute phase response, leading to systemic coagulopathy and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Thrombosis is a common complication of musculoskeletal infection, and epidemiologic studies have detected venous thromboembolism in up to 10% of pediatric patients with hematogenous osteomyelitis. Additional studies have shown that disseminated or musculoskeletal infection predisposes patients to developing severe coagulopathy. This devastating complication has the potential to cause widespread thrombosis along with paradoxic bleeding, leading to mortality rates of approximately 50%.
DIC is characterized by systemic activation of the coagulation system with deposition of fibrin and platelets throughout the vasculature. The activation of the coagulation cascade is dependent on the activation of the tissue factor/factor VIIa pathway and the contact system. In addition to uncontrolled coagulation, anticoagulant pathways also become dysregulated in DIC, most notably the protein C, antithrombin, and tissue factor pathway inhibitor cascades. Protein C levels are decreased by impaired synthesis, consumption, and degradation. In addition, its activation is decreased by proinflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, sepsis leads to downregulation of endothelial protein C receptors and resistance to activated protein C via increased factor VIII levels. Several clinical trials have attempted to improve sepsis outcomes by administering activated protein C, but these studies have failed to demonstrate benefit and actually identified an increased bleeding risk. Antithrombin, another anticoagulant, inhibits both thrombin and factor Xa to prevent hypercoagulability. However, during severe inflammation, antithrombin levels are decreased by impaired synthesis, neutrophil elastase degradation, and consumption. Similar to protein C studies, trials investigating repletion of tissue factor pathway inhibitors, such as antithrombin, in clinical trials have demonstrated increased bleeding risks without improvement in mortality.
Monitoring coagulation in the setting of coagulopathy
The combined hypercoagulable and hypocoagulable state of DIC due to widespread dysregulation of coagulation cascades poses a dilemma for both diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, in the setting of severe infections, laboratory tests such as prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, and D-dimer may be warranted to detect early coagulopathic changes and allow for timely administration of clotting factors and platelets.
Critically ill patients with DIC often have platelet counts in the range of 50,000 to 100,000, if not lower. Therefore, close monitoring of platelet count in the beginning stages of severe infection may allow for early transfusion and prevention of significant bleeding. PT/international normalized ratio is commonly used as a marker of a patient’s coagulation status. Although this test was originally developed to measure the effects of warfarin on the clotting cascade, the accuracy, availability, and familiarity of the test has made it a widely used marker of coagulopathy. Direct measurement of coagulation factors to assess for coagulopathy is not currently recommended, as the tests often have delayed turnaround times and most assays require factors to be less than 50% of their normal levels to be considered significant.
Fibrinogen, however, is a commonly measured coagulation factor, but is a nuanced marker in diagnosing DIC. Although it is an acute phase reactant that is dramatically upregulated in the setting of infection, it is also consumed rapidly in the setting of DIC. Therefore, a single measurement of fibrinogen in the setting of severe sepsis may be difficult to interpret accurately. However, a low fibrinogen level is suggestive of serious coagulopathy, with consumption outpacing the accelerated production caused by the acute phase response. Fibrin degradation products such as D-Dimer may be used as a proxy for the rate of fibrinogen consumption and clot formation. However, this test is dependent on the rate of fibrinolysis, which also can be variable in the setting of acute disease.
One test that offers a comprehensive picture of the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems is thromboelastography (TEG), which is a test that measures the speed and strength of clot formation from a sample of blood. It provides measurements of clot kinetics, strength, and lysis, allowing for a more comprehensive measurement of coagulation and fibrinolysis. Unfortunately, this test is not commonly used in the context of septic coagulopathy and DIC, but is gaining popularity in the setting of trauma. However, a recent prospective observational study demonstrated that hypocoagulability identified with TEG correlated with increased bleeding and mortality in the context of severe sepsis. Further studies are required to define the potential utility of this test in the context of DIC and musculoskeletal infection in pediatric patients.
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