Role of Beta-blockers in the Prevention on the Arisen of a Severe Sepsis (TESS)
Role of Beta-blockers in the Prevention on the Arisen of a Severe Sepsis (TESS)
The severe sepsis (SS) and toxic shock (TS) are both frequent and severe complications of
 infectious diseases. They are one of the top ten causes of death in industrialized countries.
 But an eventual protective role of beta-blockers (anti-hypertensive drug) in their occurrence
 on a community infection has never been studied. The objective of this study is to evaluate
 this role.
The severe sepsis (SS) and toxic shock (TS) are both frequent and severe complications of
 infectious diseases. They are one of the top ten causes of death in industrialized countries.
 The adrenergic system is heavily involved in this pathological/physiological context. If the
 effect of various therapeutic strategies allowing the care of the SS/TS was widely estimated,
 the impact, positive or negative, therapeutic prescribed in the long term or more punctually
 - but be that as it may before the arisen of the sepsis - on the evolution of a community
 acute infectious pathology towards the SS/TS, had only little studied.

 The main objective of this study is to estimate the possible protective role of a long-term
 prescription of a beta-blocker on the arisen of the SS/TS in patients having an acute
 infectious pathology of community origin.

 The secondary objective will be to estimate, at the patients having developed a SS/TS, the
 impact of this long-term prescription of beta-blockers on the mortality in intensive care
 unit (ICU).
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Common characteristics of cases and controls:

 -  Patients aged of more than 18 years old

 -  Hospitalized patients, during the period of study, via the ICU of the participating
 hospital center, for a community infectious pathology:

 -  lower respiratory infections (pneumonia)

 -  intra-abdominal infections (cholangitis, diverticulitis, peritonitis)

 -  urinary parenchymal infection (pyelonephritis complicated or without abscess,
 prostatitis, orchitis, epididymitis)

 -  infections of skin and soft tissue infections (cellulitis, fasciitis)

 -  meningitis, endocarditis, osteo-articular infections, salpingitis

 Definition of cases:

 -  Patient included in the study and admitted to the emergency service either directly
 from ICU or after a hospitalization in a specialty for severe sepsis or septic shock
 on their infectious disease community.

 Definition of controls:

 -  Patient included in the study with an infectious disease community, admitted to a
 specialty, and have not progressed to severe sepsis or septic shock before being
 released from the hospital.

 Non inclusion Criteria:

 -  Opposition of the patient to the IT processing of its data within the framework of
 this observational study.

 -  Exclusion criteria: Occurrence, during hospitalization, a severe sepsis or septic
 shock associated with a nosocomial superinfection.