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Abstract
Using administrative data, researchers in a recent study suggested that the NLCR is associated with 28-day mortality in unselected intensive care unit (ICU) patients; however, they did not find this association when they focused on patients with sepsis [25]. [...]it seems that there is some association between the source of the infection and hospital mortality in patients with septic shock. A rapid recovery of total, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes could indicate their intense trafficking between tissues and the lymphatic system during the acute phase of illness [12, 39-42]. [...]patients who die early might produce higher levels of stress hormones such as adrenaline, which increases lymphocyte counts [43]. [...]while some studies have indicated that the source of infection is important to consider because the immune response differs according to the site [26], we did not find any significant differences between the abdominal and extra-abdominal sepsis groups concerning lymphocytes, neutrophil counts, or the NLCR in the early- or late-death groups. [...]no information about inflammatory biomarkers (such as C-reactive protein or procalcitonin) was available in our patients; the role of these markers in this context and their potential interaction with NLCR should be assessed.