Inflammatory markers

Objective: To assess whether variables reflective of early metabolic responses to injury are predictors of outcome in critically ill trauma patients. Design.- Clinical inception cohort study comparing conventional measures of injury severity with early host response markers for the correlation of each with outcome. These data are prospectively collected in a group of patients being evaluated in a nutritional support investigation. Setting: Intensive care unit (ICU) of a major Level I trauma center. Patients: Seventeen blunt trauma patients, aged 18 to 60 yrs with an Injury Severity Score of ≥15, requiring early mechanical ventilation