DFG Transfer Unit TFB 15: The importance of complement cleavage product C3a as an early diagnostic marker in sepsis

The aim of this project is to transfer the results concerning the importance of the inflammatory mediator C3a as a diagnostic marker in septic patients into a clinical application. These data were obtained in the collaborative research centre 244 "Chronic Inflammation". To validate the preliminary results, a prospective multicenter study is performed, in which eight different surgical, internal and anesthesiologic intensive care units from Munich-Goßhadern, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Magdeburg and Hannover participate. To focus on the very beginning of the syndrome, different patient groups with a high risk to develop sepsis are investigated in this study. In addition to the analysis of the activation of the complement system the release of the inflammatory mediators IL-6 and procalcitonin is investigated. The most critical question is whether the determination of the different immunological parameters in blood allow to diagnose sepsis early i.e. before clinical signs develop. The industrial partner Biognosis produced a novel, automated C3a bedside-assay which will be evaluated in the participating intensive care units.