Severe sepsis, septic shock, and resulting organ failure appear as the most common cause of death in intensive care medicine. Inflammatory mediators (interleukin-6/IL-6), cell adhesion molecules (intercellular adhesion molecule-1/ICAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1/VCAM-1), and redox active substances (manganese superoxide dismutase/MnSOD, macrophage migration inhibitory factor/MIF) must be considered to be central hubs in the inflammatory process. However, their exact pathophysiologic function and prognostic value are still poorly understood.
In this retrospective observational study, we investigated the impact of prior splenectomy on the outcome of patients with complicated peritonitis.