Trauma is a leading cause of death worldwide with 5.8 million deaths occurring yearly. Almost 40% of trauma deaths are due to bleeding and occur in the first few hours after injury. Of the remaining severely injured patients up to 25% develop a dysregulated immune response leading to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Despite improvements in trauma care, the morbidity and mortality of this condition remains very high. Massive traumatic injury can overwhelm endogenous homeostatic mechanisms even with prompt treatment. This human study examined mtDNA levels in 139 trauma patients, and demonstrated that patients who developed MODS had significantly higher concentrations of mtDNA in their circulation at only 2 h following injury.

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