Diagnosis and Prognosis of Sepsis

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Diagnosis and Prognosis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 10998

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sepsis, characterized by an uncontrolled inflammatory response in the presence of an infection, remains one of the most extensively studied diseases in the critical care setting. This Special Issue is dedicated to advancing the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis. We welcome a diverse range of contributions, including reviews, original research articles, case reports, interesting images and guidelines, all aiming to advance our understanding of sepsis.

Dr. Zhongheng Zhang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 1243 KiB  
Article
The Prognostic Value of the CALLY Index in Sepsis: A Composite Biomarker Reflecting Inflammation, Nutrition, and Immunity
by Ali Sarıdaş and Remzi Çetinkaya
Diagnostics 2025, 15(8), 1026; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15081026 - 17 Apr 2025
Viewed by 256
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Sepsis remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide, necessitating the development of effective prognostic markers for early risk stratification. The C-reactive protein–albumin–lymphocyte (CALLY) index is a novel biomarker that integrates inflammatory, nutritional, and immunological parameters. This study aimed to evaluate the [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Sepsis remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide, necessitating the development of effective prognostic markers for early risk stratification. The C-reactive protein–albumin–lymphocyte (CALLY) index is a novel biomarker that integrates inflammatory, nutritional, and immunological parameters. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the CALLY index and 30-day all-cause mortality in sepsis patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adult patients diagnosed with sepsis in the emergency department between 1 January 2022, and 1 January 2025. The CALLY index was calculated as (CRP × absolute lymphocyte count)/albumin. The primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality. Five machine learning models—extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), multilayer perceptron, random forest, support vector machine, and generalized linear model—were developed for mortality prediction. Four feature selection strategies (gain score, SHAP values, Boruta, and LASSO regression) were used to evaluate predictor consistency. The clinical utility of the CALLY index was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: A total of 1644 patients were included, of whom 345 (21.0%) died within 30 days. Among the five machine learning models, the XGBoost model achieved the highest performance (AUC: 0.995, R2: 0.867, MAE: 0.063, RMSE: 0.145). In gain-based feature selection, the CALLY index emerged as the top predictor (gain: 0.187), followed by serum lactate (0.185) and white blood cell count (0.117). The CALLY index also ranked second in SHAP analysis (mean value: 0.317) and first in Boruta importance (mean importance: 37.54). DCA showed the highest net clinical benefit of the CALLY index within the 0.10–0.15 risk threshold range. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the CALLY index is a significant predictor of 30-day mortality in sepsis patients. Machine learning analysis further reinforced the prognostic value of the CALLY index. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis and Prognosis of Sepsis)
Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1372 KiB  
Article
The Association of Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference with Sepsis-Related Mortality in South Korea
by Tak-Kyu Oh and In-Ae Song
Diagnostics 2024, 14(6), 574; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14060574 - 7 Mar 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1312
Abstract
Obesity is a major public health problem worldwide and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, studies have shown that obesity has sepsis-related mortality benefits. We aimed to determine whether there is an improved sepsis-related survival rate in patients with obesity in [...] Read more.
Obesity is a major public health problem worldwide and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, studies have shown that obesity has sepsis-related mortality benefits. We aimed to determine whether there is an improved sepsis-related survival rate in patients with obesity in South Korea. We included data from 77,810 adults with sepsis between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2020, extracted from the National Health Insurance Service database in South Korea. The patients underwent standard health examinations within a year before sepsis, and body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were used to reflect obesity. Lower 30-day and 1-year mortality rates were observed in the overweight and obesity groups after adjusting for confounders, including WC. However, there was no difference in mortality between the patients with severe obesity and those with normal BMI. Underweight was associated with higher 30-day and 1-year mortality. Higher 30-day and 1-year mortality was found in the high and very high WC groups. In conclusion, patients with abdominal obesity and overweight and obesity and with sepsis showed reduced mortality, whereas underweight patients with sepsis showed increased mortality in South Korea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis and Prognosis of Sepsis)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

16 pages, 1869 KiB  
Review
Sepsis-Associated Acute Kidney Injury: What’s New Regarding Its Diagnostics and Therapeutics?
by Dimitris Kounatidis, Ilektra Tzivaki, Stavroula Daskalopoulou, Anna Daskou, Andreas Adamou, Anastasia Rigatou, Evangelos Sdogkos, Irene Karampela, Maria Dalamaga and Natalia G. Vallianou
Diagnostics 2024, 14(24), 2845; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14242845 - 17 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1757
Abstract
Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) is defined as the development of AKI in the context of a potentially life-threatening organ dysfunction attributed to an abnormal immune response to infection. SA-AKI has been associated with increased mortality when compared to sepsis or AKI alone. [...] Read more.
Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) is defined as the development of AKI in the context of a potentially life-threatening organ dysfunction attributed to an abnormal immune response to infection. SA-AKI has been associated with increased mortality when compared to sepsis or AKI alone. Therefore, its early recognition is of the utmost importance in terms of its morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of this review is to shed light on the pathophysiological pathways implicated in SA-AKI as well as its diagnostics and therapeutics. In this review, we will elucidate upon serum and urinary biomarkers, such as creatinine, cystatin, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), proenkephalin A 119–159, interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and interleukin-18, soluble toll-like receptor 2 (sTLR2), chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and chemokine C-C-motif 14 (CCL14). In addition, the role of RNA omics as well as machine learning programs for the timely diagnosis of SA-AKI will be further discussed. Moreover, regarding SA-AKI treatment, we will elaborate upon potential therapeutic agents that are being studied, based on the pathophysiology of SA-AKI, in humans and in animal models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis and Prognosis of Sepsis)
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 679 KiB  
Review
Advancing Pathogen Identification: The Role of Digital PCR in Enhancing Diagnostic Power in Different Settings
by Alessia Mirabile, Giuseppe Sangiorgio, Paolo Giuseppe Bonacci, Dalida Bivona, Emanuele Nicitra, Carmelo Bonomo, Dafne Bongiorno, Stefania Stefani and Nicolò Musso
Diagnostics 2024, 14(15), 1598; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14151598 - 25 Jul 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6872
Abstract
Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) has emerged as a groundbreaking technology in molecular biology and diagnostics, offering exceptional precision and sensitivity in nucleic acid detection and quantification. This review highlights the core principles and transformative potential of dPCR, particularly in infectious disease diagnostics [...] Read more.
Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) has emerged as a groundbreaking technology in molecular biology and diagnostics, offering exceptional precision and sensitivity in nucleic acid detection and quantification. This review highlights the core principles and transformative potential of dPCR, particularly in infectious disease diagnostics and environmental surveillance. Emphasizing its evolution from traditional PCR, dPCR provides accurate absolute quantification of target nucleic acids through advanced partitioning techniques. The review addresses the significant impact of dPCR in sepsis diagnosis and management, showcasing its superior sensitivity and specificity in early pathogen detection and identification of drug-resistant genes. Despite its advantages, challenges such as optimization of experimental conditions, standardization of data analysis workflows, and high costs are discussed. Furthermore, we compare various commercially available dPCR platforms, detailing their features and applications in clinical and research settings. Additionally, the review explores dPCR’s role in water microbiology, particularly in wastewater surveillance and monitoring of waterborne pathogens, underscoring its importance in public health protection. In conclusion, future prospects of dPCR, including methodological optimization, integration with innovative technologies, and expansion into new sectors like metagenomics, are explored. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis and Prognosis of Sepsis)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop