Animal models of sepsis: why does preclinical efficacy fail to translate to the clinical setting?

A Dyson, M Singer - Critical care medicine, 2009 - journals.lww.com
Objective: To postulate reasons as to why the benefits seen with novel therapies in animal
models of sepsis fail to translate to the clinical setting. Data Source: MEDLINE searches and
relevant book chapters. Data Summary: Thousands of preclinical trials performed over more
than five decades have failed to find more than a handful of drugs and techniques that
significantly improve outcomes in clinical sepsis. We review current concepts surrounding
the variety of animal models used today, ranging from simple models of acute toxemia to …