ABSTRACT
While critically ill patients of the past would have succumbed early in their course, improvements in management today permit many patients to develop evidence of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) or multiple organ failure (MOF).1-5 Multiple organ failure was first reported in 1969 and represented a consequence of the significant advances in the ability to provide early fluid resuscitation, ventilatory, and pharmacologic support for the critically ill patient.3,6 Multiple organ system dysfunction has been reported in patients with all types of critical illness and/or extreme stresses of normal physiology7,8 It is evident that a patient’s ultimate survival is dependent on factors other than the successful treatment of the initial disease process for which the patient was admitted. Multiple organ dysfunction/failure is now regarded as one of the most common causes of death in the noncoronary intensive care unit and is also a frequent cause of morbidity, prolonged hospitalization, and increased cost of care.1
