Clinical evaluation of sivelestat for acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome following surgery for abdominal sepsis

Background: The efficacy of sivelestat in the treatment of acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) has not been established. In part, this is due to the wide variety of factors involved in the etiology of ALI/ARDS. In this study, we examined the efficacy of sivelestat in patients with ALI/ARDS associated with abdominal sepsis. Methods: The subjects were 49 patients with ALI/ARDS after surgery for abdominal sepsis. The efficacy of sivelestat was retrospectively assessed in two treatment groups, ie, a sivelestat group (n = 34) and a non-sivelestat group (n = 15). Results: The sivelestat group showed significant improvements in oxygenation, thrombocytopenia, and multiple organ dysfunction score. The number of ventilator days (6.6 +/- 6.1 versus 11.1 +/- 8.4 days; P = 0.034) and length of stay in the intensive care unit (8.5 +/- 6.2 versus 13.3 +/- 9.5 days; P = 0.036) were significantly lower in the sivelestat group. The hospital mortality rate decreased by half in the sivelestat group, but was not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: Administration of sivelestat to patients with ALI/ARDS following surgery for abdominal sepsis resulted in early improvements of oxygenation and multiple organ dysfunction score, early ventilator weaning, and early discharge from the intensive care unit.