Abstract
The present paper proposes a prospective auxiliary treatment for sepsis. There exists no record in the published media on the subject. As an auxiliary therapy, efficacious extracorporeal removal of sepsis-causing bacterial antigens and their toxins (BATs) from the blood of septic patients is discussed. The principal component to this approach is a bacterial polyvalent antibody-column (BPVAC), which selectively traps wide spectrum of BATs from blood in an extracorporeal circuit, and detoxified blood returns back to the patient's body. BPVAC treatment would be a device of targeted medicine. Detoxification is performed under supervision of trained personnel using simple blood-circulating machines in which blood circulates from the patient to BPVAC and back to the patient aseptically. BPVACs' reactive sites consist of carbon nanotubes on which a vast spectra of polyvalent BATs-antibodies are bond to. The devise acts as a biological filter that selectively immobilizes harmful BATs from intoxicated blood; however, no dialysis is involved. For effective neutralization, BPVAC provides large contact surface area with blood. BPVAC approach would have advantages of: 1) urgent neutralization of notorious BATs from blood of septic patients; 2) applicability in parallel with conventional treatments; 3) potential to minimize side effects of the malady; 4) applicability for a vast range of BATs; 5) potential to eliminate contact of BATs with internal tissues and organs; 6) tolerability by patients sensitive to antiserum injections; 7) capability for universal application; 8) affectivity when antibiotic-resistant bacteria are involved and the physician has no or limited access to appropriate antibiotics; and 10) being a single-use, disposable, and stand-alone device. Before using it for clinical trials in human beings, it should pass animal evaluations accurately; however, research works should optimize its implementation in human beings. For optimization, it needs appropriate investments, collaboration of scientists in many fields of research, and development through several interdisciplinary sciences such as medical engineering, nanotechnology, immunology, biochemistry, emergency medicine, internal, and infectious diseases.