RT Journal Article SR Electronic A1 Vinall, Phil T1 Combination Antibiotics and Outcome of Life-Threatening Bacterial Infections and Septic Shock JF MD Conference Express YR 2012 FD SAGE Publications VO 12 IS 14 SP 33 OP 34 DO 10.1177/155989771214017 UL http://mdc.sagepub.com/content/12/14/33.abstract AB Untreated septic shock is usually fatal within 24 to 36 hours. Clinical trials with anti-inflammatory agents in patients with sepsis are based on the assumption that the pathogenesis of sepsis is primarily driven by excessive proinflammatory activity of the cytokine network even though the triggering infection may have been eliminated by appropriate antimicrobial therapy [van der Poll T, van Deventer SJ. Infect Dis Clin North Am 1999]. It has been suggested that the failure of these trials to show clinical benefit, in conjunction with recent experimental data, raises doubt about the validity of this assumption.