Antipyretic therapy in patients with sepsis

Sepsis is a clinical syndrome characterized by a systemic inflammatory resp onse to infection. Mortality rates in sepsis have remained high, despite re cent advances in our understanding of the immunological mechanisms that cau se sepsis, Fever, a nonspecific acute-phase response, has been associated w ith improved survival and shortened disease duration in some infections. Th is article reviews the biological effects of fever and the influence of ant ipyretic therapy on the outcome in sepsis in experimental models and in hum ans and offers clinical recommendations for antipyretic therapy in early an d late stages of the disorder.