Determination of the Normal Human Plasma Level of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS) Using the PliNOSa Test

Infections in intensive care units (ICUs) and other hospital settings can be caused by different types of organisms, such as bacteria and fungi. Yearly, these infections cause at least 2 million patients in the USA to enter the early stages of the sepsis pathology (pre-sepsis) which will lead to more than 750,000 cases of sepsis that can deteriorate into life-threatening severe sepsis with organ dysfunction and septic shock with multiple organ failure and result in more than 250,000 deaths per year. At present, an accurate clinical lab test to predict the onset of the sepsis pathology does not exist. Thus, there is a large unmet clinical lab need for a test that can aid physicians in assessing the risk their hospitalized patients have for developing the sepsis pathology. A reliable test for predicting very early the onset of sepsis would be a major medical breakthrough. However, a reference level for normal healthy individuals is needed against which plasma levels can be compared for increased (or decreased) levels of iNOS.