Abstract
Circulating levels of conventional biomarkers and damage-associated molecular patterns were examined in 30 severe sepsis patients (20 survivors and 10 nonsurvivors). Plasma levels of interleukin 6, CRP, and procalcitonin reached their peaks on Day 0 (onset of sepsis) or Day 1 and declined rapidly thereafter despite the persistent severity. In contrast, elevated levels of histone H3, nucleosome, and high-mobility group protein Box 1 remained for longer periods of time. The peak level of histone H3 in the nonsurvivors was higher than that of the survivors (p < 0.05 on Day 7). The cutoff value of the histone H3 on Day 7 for death was 0.08 AU and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve showed discriminative powers of 0.74. Measurement of circulating levels of the histone H3 provides additional information to that of the conventional indicators of inflammation for determining the severity of sepsis.