Elational and logistic regression analysis. Results: At autopsy HHH was present in the bone marrow of 69 out of 107 (64.5 ) patients: 35/107 (32.7 ) had mild, 27/107 (25.2 ) moderate, 7/107 (6.5 ) severe HHH. The HHH correlates with the iron store and not with the cellularity of the bone marrow. In univariate analysis HHH was associated with higher APACHE II-score, SOFA-score and TISS-score, mechanical ventilation, recent blood transfusion, DIC and sepsis (P < 0.05). At autopsy histology of pneumonia and respiratory cause of death were more frequent in patients with HHH (P < 0.05). Conclusions: HHH is frequent in patients dying in the ICU. HHH may contribute to the blood cytopenia often seen in ICU patients. Severity of illness, infections and blood transfusions are predictors of HHH. Reference:1. Suster, et al.: Hum Pathol 1988, 19:705-712.P107 Decreased monocyte surface expression of HLA-DQ is associated with Anle138b custom synthesis prolonged duration of septic shockSJ Voglic, G Fischer, E Barth, T Weckmann, M Georgieff, M Weiss University Clinic of Ulm, Department of Anesthesia, Steinhoevelstr. 9, 89075 Ulm, Germany There is increasing evidence for a protective role of Human-Leukocyte-Antigen (HLA)-DQ in response to infection. This study was performed: (1) to investigate the kinetics of monomorphic (m)HLAII (HLA-DR,-DP,-DQ) and HLA-DQ expression on monocytes during septic shock; (2) to clarify whether maintaining mHLA-II and HLA-DQ expression within normal range (NR) could predict improved recovery and survival. In total, 16 patients (11 males, 5 females) in septic shock have been investigated. mHLA-II and HLA-DQ median fluorescence intensity (MFI) on monocytes have been monitored daily using flow cytometry. Normal range was determined in 19 healthy volunteers. MFI of mHLA-II and HLA-DQ expression throughout septic shock was significantly reduced when compared to control (P < 0.05). All patients showed median mHLA-II expression below normal range regardless of duration of septic shock and survival. In contrast, median HLA-DQ expression demonstrated negative correlation with the duration of septic shock (Phi-square = 0.73). Patients PubMed ID:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20727068 with HLA-DQ below normal range showed almost a three-fold prolonged term of septic shock as compared to patients with HLA-DQ expression within normal range (15.2 ?6.3 days versus 5.5 ?1.7 days; P < 0.015). Although, there was no correlation between median HLA-DQ and survival, all non-survivors showed HLA-DQ expression below normal range. In conclusion, HLA-DQ expression below normal range may predict prolonged duration of septic shock and increased mortality and could be an indicative marker of immune surveillance in critically ill patients.Available online http://ccforum.com/supplements/6/SP108 Complement activation in relation to age in patients with severe sepsisG Marx*, B Vangerow, H Rueckoldt, M Cobas Meyer, D Fromann, T Schuerholz, M Leuwer* *University Department of Anaesthesia, University of Liverpool, L69 3GA, UK; Eli Lilly GmbH, Germany; Department of Anaesthesia, Hannover Medical School, Germany Objectives: Severe sepsis is still associated with a mortality of 29 [1]. Sepsis mortality is highest in elderly patients [1]. Another factor, which is related to outcome in sepsis is the extent of complement activation [2]. The aim of this study was to evaluate complement activation in relation to age in severe septic patients. We investigated the value of PCT, comparing with Creactive protein (CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6, in.