The word "failure" is commonly used to refer to the later stages, especially IV and V, when artificial support usually becomes necessary to sustain life; the damage may or may not be fully or partially reversible.
[citation needed] Sepsis is the most common cause of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and may result in septic shock.
[citation needed] Currently, investigators are looking into genetic targets for possible gene therapy to prevent the progression to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
They are essential components of a normal healthy immune response, however, so there is risk of increasing vulnerability to infection, which can also cause clinical deterioration.
[5] Due to splanchnic hypoperfusion and the subsequent mucosal ischaemia there are structural changes and alterations in cellular function.
The pro-inflammatory mediators are: tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1, interleukin-6, thromboxane A2, prostacyclin, platelet activating factor, and nitric oxide.
[1] According to findings of Professor Zsolt Balogh and his team at the University of Newcastle (Australia), mitochondrial DNA is the leading cause of severe inflammation due to a massive amount of mitochondrial DNA that leaks into the bloodstream due to cell death of patients who survived major trauma.
[citation needed] This results in catastrophic immune response leading to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
[1] Mortality, though it has lessened to a limited degree, at least in developed countries with timely access to initial and tertiary care, varies where the chance of survival is diminished as the number of organs involved increases.
Prognosis must take into account any co-morbidities the patient may have, their past and current health status, any genetic or environmental vulnerabilities they have, the nature and type of the illness or injury (as an example, data from COVID-19 is still being analyzed, whereas other cases from long-existing illnesses are much better understood), and any resistance to drugs used to treat microbial infections or any hospital-acquired co-infection.
Measurements of lactate, cytokines, albumin and other proteins, urea, blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, insulin, and blood sugar, adequate hydration, constant monitoring of vital signs, good communication within and between facilities and staff, and adequate staffing, training, and charting are important in MODS, as in any serious illness.
[8][9][10][11][12] In patients with sepsis, septic shock, or multiple organ dysfunction syndrome that is due to major trauma, the rs1800625 polymorphism is a functional single nucleotide polymorphism, a part of the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) transmembrane receptor gene (of the immunoglobulin superfamily) and confers host susceptibility to sepsis and MODS in these patients.