Faculty Collaboration Database

Complement and the severity of pulmonary failure. J Trauma 1988 Jul;28(7):1013-9

Date

07/01/1988

Pubmed ID

3260964

DOI

10.1097/00005373-198807000-00017

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0023765581 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   24 Citations

Abstract

Complement-induced granulocyte aggregation is suspected as a cause of the adult respiratory distress syndrome. Quantifying the lung damage in these patients is difficult, and complement levels combined with clinical parameters of oxygenation might help define the severity of pulmonary deterioration. Forty-five high-risk patients, selected by arterial blood gas criteria, had their pulmonary insult related to C3a and C5a levels. Patients were stratified by pulmonary shunt, alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient, and radiographic findings into two categories of severity: pulmonary dysfunction, a milder insult, and ARDS, a major aberration in pulmonary function. The clinical assignment of a diagnostic category required at least 96 hours of monitoring. During this 96-hour period, multiple complement levels were obtained. These complement levels were then compared in pulmonary dysfunction and ARDS patients. ARDS patients had significantly higher C3a and C5a values after the patients were selected as high risk. These results suggest that the amount of complement activated in patients with incipient respiratory failure correlates with the severity of eventual pulmonary insult. The use of arterial blood gases and C3a and C5a levels should allow better and earlier definition of patients at risk for ARDS.

Author List

Weigelt JA, Chenoweth DE, Borman KR, Norcross JF

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Aged
Complement Activation
Complement C3
Complement C3a
Complement C5
Complement C5a
Female
Hemodynamics
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Respiratory Insufficiency
Severity of Illness Index