Metabolomics: Which role in asphyxia and sepsis?

Metabolomics is a new “omics” approach concerning the high-throughput identification, quantification and characterization of endogenous and exogenous metabolites. This new technique is gaining consideration upon medical practice improving the single metabolite analysis as well as measuring the response to treatment in intensive care units. However, despite great efforts, very little research has new biomarkers or specific metabolic profiles, which characterize disorders such as asphyxia and sepsis. Here, we point out some of the recent works published in literature regarding the management of these conditions having high mortality and morbidity rates. The purpose of this review is also to highlight the ability of metabolomics to find early biomarkers for these conditions as well as to predict the development of sideeffects due to the therapy. The goal is to demonstrate that the metabolomics technique can be considered a viable option for the study of these conditions, which may help to develop a better care in intensive departments.