Sepsis prediction in critically ill patients by platelet activation markers on ICU admission: a prospective pilot study

BACKGROUND: Platelets have been involved in both immune surveillance and host defense against severe infection. To date, whether platelet phenotype or other hemostasis components could be associated with predisposition to sepsis in critical illness remains unknown. The aim of this work was to identify platelet markers that could predict sepsis occurrence in critically ill injured patients. METHODS: This single-center, prospective, observational, 7-month study was based on a cohort of 99 non-infected adult patients admitted to ICUs for elective cardiac surgery, trauma, acute brain injury, and post-operative prolonged ventilation and followed up during ICU stay. Clinical characteristics and severity score (SOFA) were recorded on admission. Platelet activation markers, including fibrinogen binding to platelets, platelet membrane P-selectin expression, plasma soluble CD40L, and platelet-leukocytes aggregates were assayed by flow cytometry at admission and 48 h later, and then at the time of sepsis diagnosis (Sepsis-3 criteria) and 7 days later for sepsis patients. Hospitalization data and outcomes were also recorded. METHODS: Of the 99 patients, 19 developed sepsis after a median time of 5 days. These patients had a higher SOFA score at admission; levels of fibrinogen binding to platelets (platelet-Fg) and of D-dimers were also significantly increased compared to the other patients. Levels 48 h after ICU admission no longer differed between the two patient groups. Platelet-Fg % was an independent predictor of sepsis (P = 0.0031). By ROC curve analysis, cutoff point for Platelet-Fg (AUC = 0.75) was 50%. In patients with a SOFA cutoff of 8, the risk of sepsis reached 87% when Platelet-Fg levels were above 50%. Patients with sepsis had longer ICU and hospital stays and higher death rate. CONCLUSIONS: Platelet-bound fibrinogen levels assayed by flow cytometry within 24 h of ICU admission help identifying critically ill patients at risk of developing sepsis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40635-017-0145-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.