Focus on immunocompromised patients

Excerpt

Immunocompromised patients represent a growing proportion of critically ill patients [1]. These patients do not have the ability to respond normally to an infection due to an impaired or weakened immune system. This inability to fight infection can be caused by a number of conditions including underlying disease (malignancy, organ or stem cell transplantation, systemic vasculitis, connective tissues diseases, etc.), associated conditions (diabetes, malnutrition, etc.) or drug-related immune suppression. Immunocompromised patients are admitted for life-threatening complications related to the underlying condition, severe infections, or severe toxic events. Also, because of the ageing population, immunocompromised patients may also be admitted for acute medical conditions unrelated to immune suppression. In the present editorial, we sought to focus on the studies published on immunocompromised patients and comment on how much they have added to the existing literature. …