What is multi-organ failure? What causes it? Can it be reversed?
ICU and Life support (Representative image) | Photo Credit: iStock Images  Key Highlights One hears often that someone had battled an illness for some days in ICU until multi-organ-failure set in. Read on to know more. We often think of our organs and the various systems within our body as independent of each other. With transplant for most body parts have become a reality, and several life-support machines having proven useful - we often wonder why some people die of multi-organ failure. To explain what is multi-organ-failure, let us look at what the Kindred Hospital (Kentucky/USA) site defines it as:  Quoting Kindred Hospital, USA When the inflammation from a severe infection or injury causes dysfunction in two or more organ systems, this is called multiple organ system failures. Often, patients experiencing multiple organ system failures have already been admitted to the hospital to treat underlying or connected conditions, such as hypoperfusion and hypermetabolism. Unfortunately, multiple organ system failures, also known as Multiple Organ Failure (MOF) or Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome (MODS), can be fatal. Theres no single answer to what causes organ failure, and depending on the patient, there can be many factors involved. However, organ failure can be triggered by sepsis, an extreme response to an infection that causes inflammatory chemicals to be released into the bloodstream. The various organs/systems involved:  Lung/Respiratory Heart/Cardiovascular Kidney/Renal Liver/Hepatic Brain/Neurologic Blood/Hematologic  Now doctors have developed scales based on the quantification of organ dysfunction as a numeric scale to grade the MODS. Each uses the same six organ systems to characterize MODS - the respiratory, cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, neurologic, and hematologic systems. What causes MODS:  According to a research paper in the US Library of Medicine, physicians are still largely ignorant of the underlying biology of SIRS and multiple organ failure. The same research paper says that strategies to prevent multiple organ failure are possible. These include:  Aggressive resuscitation of hemodynamically unstable patients  Careful assessment to avoid missing clinically significant injuries  Early operative treatment of all possible injuries with debridement of all nonviable tissue  Early nutritional support, and  The early diagnosis and prompt treatment of infectious complications. Treatment of patients with established multiple organ failure is still largely supportive and has made little impact on the patient mortality rate over the past 20 years, says the study. It advises that future treatment strategies must focus on multimodality combination therapy aimed at specifically suppressing excessive activation of the inflammatory response while preserving immune competence and normal antimicrobial defences. Only then are physicians likely to begin to see a reduction in the mortality rate of patients with this complex and challenging condition. Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purpose only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.