A review of biomarkers and physiomarkers in pediatric sepsis

Sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill pediatric patients. The early diagnosis of sepsis is often difficult. Clinical signs and symptoms consistent with established criteria often occur late in the course of illness. In addition, early manifestations of sepsis are often nonspecific and can occur in many other disease processes, which confound the clinical picture. Therefore, identifying markers that are both sensitive and specific would be extremely helpful to the clinician for definitive diagnosis of sepsis before progression to severe disease. The purpose of this review is to describe the more common physiomarkers and biomarkers used that may aid in the diagnosis of sepsis as well as describe promising biomarkers that may be more widely available in the future.