The Effects of HIV Protease Inhibitors in Severe Sepsis

Sepsis is the leading cause of death in critically ill patients in the United States. It develops in approximately 750,000 Americans annually, and more than 210,000 of them die. Despite improvements in supportive treatment, mortality has changed very little, and until recently, no sepsis-specific treatments were available. Protease inhibitors have seemed to have an immune benefit that extends beyond their ability to prevent HIV replication. T cells in those patients treated with protease inhibitors have reduced rates of death than in those patients not receiving therapy.