New way to fight sepsis: Rev up patients' immune systems

(Washington University School of Medicine) Sepsis causes about 250,000 deaths annually in the United States. Standard treatment involves high doses of antibiotics. Even if people survive the initial onslaught , they can be left with severely damaged immune systems unable to fight lingering and secondary infections. But a small clinical trial, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has shown that a drug that revs up the immune system holds promise.