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The aim of this article is to emphasize the importance of taking into account the mechanism of host's response to insult when choosing a nutritional strategy in the early phase of a critical illness. At the same time, the article discusses the risks associated with early aggressive nutritional intervention for both energy and protein intake. Today, it seems that the most optimal choice of nutritional support during the first week of stay in the ICU is a gradual increase in both energy and protein intake. In numerical terms, this means a daily increase in energy dose of approximately 5 kcal/kg/day and a daily increase in protein dose of 0.2 g /kg/day. However, this only applies to patients admitted to the ICU with a normal body mass index, i.e. without malnutrition or without obesity. Both of these categories require special attention beyond the scope of this article.

The aim of this mini-review is to draw attention to the risk aspects associated with antibiotic treatment in critically ill patients. These include antibiotic underdosing in the early phase of sepsis if treatment is governed by pharmacopoeia and unnecessarily long exposure to antibiotics if treatment is guided by traditional recommendations for the length of antibiotic administration. The need for discussing the loading dose of antibiotics and routine monitoring of serum antibiotic concentrations during treatment is stated. Antibiotic-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are also discussed. Indeed, both of these mechanisms, otherwise effective in inhibiting the growth of tumor cells, may play an important role in the prolonged course of multiorgan failure if antibiotic treatment is too long.

Oxygen is biologically vital element sustaining life. The tissue oxygen delivery is therefore precisely regulated. The degree of tissue oxygenation is estimated by measurement of oxygen blood level. The lack of oxygen on cellular and tissue level can lead to organ failure and life-threatening condition. Important adaptive processes are activated during the sublethal hypoxia with goal to preserve cellular and tissue functions. Inadequate effort to correct hypoxia can cause either disturbance of the adaptation or undesirable tissue hyperoxia. This fact is taken into account in two currently proposed concepts: (1) precise control of arterial oxemia and (2) permissive hypoxemia. Recent literature supports rather restrictive strategy of oxygen therapy in critical care.

Sepsis remains one of the most common causes of death worldwide. It is caused by a complex of inadequate host responses to infection. It is also often difficult to distinguish sepsis from a non-infectious cause of systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Early identification of an infectious origin may dramatically help to improve the outcome and reduce mortality. That is the main reason why clinicians need fast, reliable and specific biomarkers for recognition of sepsis. Presepsin (sCD-14ST) is one of promising biomarkers, the level of which increases in response to a microbial infection in the host. As a glycoprotein expressed in the membranes of monocytes and macrophages, CD14 (cluster of differentiation 14) serves especially as a co-receptor of the lipopolysaccharide-lipopolysaccharide binding protein complexes, and activates the inflammatory cascade. Consequently, during the inflammatory reaction, sCD14-ST, known as presepsin, is cleaved away from plasma. The objective of this article is to determine the diagnostic value of presepsin in the diagnostics of sepsis, assessing its severity, and monitoring the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions, and to establish the prognostic value of this biomarker.

Therapy of haemorrhagic shock presents a huge challenge nowadays. Changes in circulation and metabolism are preceded with changes in cells, vessels and extracellular fluid. The main disorder takes place in microcirculation. Monitoring of extracellular fluid is possible with microdialysis. This method was verified on animal models and a became base of many clinical examinations in the world. First of all it is monitoring of lactate, pyruvate, glucose and glycerole as main markers of cell metabolism. Tissue condition can be described not only with absolute values but also as relations between individual parameters e.g. lactate/pyruvate and lactate/glucose. These values do not only inform us about forthcoming change from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism but also about the degree of reperfusion. Precious information about mitochondrial dysfunction which is the essence of multiorgan dysfunction in intensive care is collected as well. Based on changes we can asses the quality of resuscitation care together with speed of shock elimination, increasing oxygen delivery and mitochondrial dysfunction treatment.

Anticytokine therapy in sepsis belongs to a subgroup of therapeutic interventions referred to as antiinflammatory or immunomodulatory strategies in the intensive care literature. Between the mid-1980s and the late 1990s, this approach was considered very promising. Against all expectations, it proved ineffective or even harmful in many cases. However, the recent literature is suggestive of a renewed interest in the topic. Therefore, we attempted at a retrospective search for causes of the failure.

Severe sepsis is at present serious medical and social problem. In contrast to many other diseases its incidence shows an upward tendency and so does mortality due to sepsis. From the point of view of pathogenesis the cause of this complaint is a disturbed response to infection. The basis of this disruption is either a huge local inflammation that goes hand in hand with the penetration of proinflammatory cytokines into systemic circulation or an excessive proinflammatory systemic response. In the first instance the consequence is a systemic proinflammatory response accompanied by a disruption of macrocirculation, later also of microcirculation and finally mitochondrial failure. These mechanisms are responsible for the gradual failure of distant organs. In the second instance the consequence is a deactivation of systemic and local immunocompetent cells accompanied by the risk of uncontrolled proliferation of microorganisms. Affected are organs with a disturbed antimicrobial barrier, especially the lungs du ring mechanical ventilation, the bloodstream or the urinary system during catheterization. A large group of selectively acting preparations has been clinically tested in the management of this disorder, but only very few of these preparations were efficacious. We may postulate that the great diversity of the investigated population of patients was responsible for this lack of success.