In the current study, the authors used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to detect a range of viruses in blood and urine samples from critically ill patients with sepsis. As a comparison, they performed the same test on critically ill patients in the hospital who did not have sepsis and healthy patients who were having outpatient surgery.
Researchers noted that 43 percent of sepsis patients who were tested for some viruses had two or more viruses detected in their blood or urine during their hospital stays, and in a subgroup of patients tested for all viruses, 54 percent were positive for two or more. The authors also found that septic patients with higher levels of viruses in their blood were more likely to have severe illnesses, secondary fungal and bacterial infections, and longer stays in the intensive care unit.
"We stumbled onto more viruses than we expected, and we don't know yet whether some of these viruses are causing problems in their own right," co-author Gregory Storch, MD, said. "We think this paper will stimulate others to carry out further investigations of the role of latent viruses in sepsis."
The authors hope that, in addition to using powerful antibiotics to fight off infections in patients with sepsis, immunotherapy drugs that boost the immune system may be an effective therapy.
Source: Eurekalert