F5

The overall purpose of the study is to determine whether either of the Improved Response Polymorphisms (IRPs) individually predicts a differential DrotAA treatment effect in patients with severe sepsis and high risk of death. This will be an international, multicenter, "prospective-retrospective", nonrandomized, controlled, outcome-blinded, genotype-blinded, matched-patients study. No prospective enrollment or treatment of patients will occur under this protocol. Retrospectively collected clinical data and DNA samples will be analyzed for existing cohorts of patients with severe sepsis who were previously treated with DrotAA (treatment group) or not (control group) as part of their standard care in an ICU.

Recombinant human Activated Protein C (rhAPC) has been shown to reduce the mortality of patients with severe sepsis. The biological effects of APC are pleiotropic, and can be roughly divided in anticoagulant and cytoprotective effects. Lung infection and inflammation are associated with reduced bronchoalveolar levels of endogenous APC. Recent evidence derived from animal studies indicates that local administration of rAPC into the lungs exerts local anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant effects. In this study we propose to study the potential of locally administered APC, within a lung subsegment, to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced lung inflammation and coagulation in humans.