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by Kevin J. Tracey, 224 pp, $23.95, ISBN 1-932594-06-X, Washington, DC, Dana Press, Chicago, Ill, University of Chicago Press, 2005.

JAMA. 2005;293:2160.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

I enjoyed reading Fatal Sequence very much; indeed, I had great difficulty putting it down.

Neurosurgeon and immunologist Kevin Tracey, MD, tells the poignant story of his patient, 11-month-old infant Janice, who, after a 75% scald burn, develops septic shock and eventually dies of severe sepsis. After Janice’s death in 1985, the author had a "magnificent obsession" to learn as much as possible about the problems of sepsis and possible treatments. As he points out, severe sepsis is a leading cause of death, responsible for 215 000 deaths annually in the United States.

Tracey is among the giants in sepsis research. As one of the discoverers of tumor necrosis factor, he was involved in exploring cytokines and their roles in sepsis and multiple other medical problems.

Tracey’s review of historical and contemporary research on severe sepsis and septic shock is extremely interesting. Historical vignettes on infections and sepsis, such as an . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Robert F. Wilson, MD, Reviewer
Detroit Receiving Hospital
Wayne State University
Detroit, Mich
rwilson3@dmc.org