We currently categorize and triage septic patients based on a clinical syndromic classification. Tools include clinical severity scores such as SOFA (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment), early warning scores and blood lactate levels. While these are measures of overall severity, experts believe that this approach fails to distinguish between patients who require different therapies. Recent evidence suggests that sepsis may be subdivided into subgroups (endotypes) and that these subgroups have different prognosis, risks, and responses to therapy.
More tools are required to understand sepsis heterogeneity. Emulating advances made in oncology, we will build a research pipeline integrating translational research projects that will create these new tools, and clinical research evaluating the performance of more personalized interventions and protocols. Information will flow from translational to clinical research, and vice versa. For example, we aim to capitalize on existing and future clinical trials to build the Sepsis Canada Biobank. In turn, endotypes emerging from translational research projects will be fed into the design of clinical trials in a way that enables the evaluation of personalized therapeutic strategies.
Project 9, another infrastructure project, will create a platform in support of future clinical trials informed by emerging endotypes. Project 10 consists of an infrastructure plan to accelerate the discovery of sepsis endotypes from preclinical and clinical studies.
Projects
- Project 9: Canadian Clinical Research Network and Biorepository
- Project 10: National Preclinical Sepsis Platform
