Aged, critically ill surgical patients have greater organ dysfunction and incidence of adverse clinical outcomes after sepsis. Biomarker profiles suggest an immunophenotype of persistent immunosuppression and catabolism. Advanced age may necessitate novel therapeutic strategies to promote multisystem organ recovery and improve survival after sepsis. The cohort included 173 patients with severe sepsis (n = 93; 53.8%) or septic shock (n = 80; 46.2%), with a mean age of 60.9 (±14.5) years. Intra-abdominal sepsis was the leading source (n = 81; 46.8%), followed by necrotizing soft tissue infection (n = 33, 19.1%) and pneumonia (n = 30; 17.3%). We performed a single-center, prospective observational cohort study of surgical intensive care unit patients with severe sepsis/septic shock.

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