RT Journal
A1 Maier RV
T1 PEntoxifylline in sepsis
JF Archives of Surgery
JO Archives of Surgery
YR 1998
FD April 1
VO 133
IS 4
SP 466
OP 466
DO 
UL http://dx.doi.org/
AB 
The study by Staubach and colleagues1 on the use of pentoxifylline in patients with severe sepsis addresses a clinically relevant scenario, and attempts to minimize several of the major problems that have been identified in previous clinical trials. This study involves prospective randomization, use of a very high dose of pentoxifylline to optimize therapeutic potential, and long-term therapy for 28 days or until the patients were discharged from the intensive care unit or died. Many failed immunomodulation trials have used inadequate doses and short courses of therapy, which should not logically be expected to affect outcome owing to the persistence of the underlying disease conditions that initiated the septic state.