Fig. 2.

Limits of classical animal models regarding sepsis/septic shock. a Infected animals are powerful models for basic laboratory observations and/or mechanistic studies of host/pathogen interactions. b Animals with a severe infection have two options, curing or dying, while human has an “intermediate” possibility, surviving. ICU patients represent an abnormal situation to an evolutionary view that is difficult to replicate. Infected animals with lethal dose of microbial agents are killed at a defined time point and compared with septic ICU patients. The ICU environment (monitoring, nursing) and treatments (specific antimicrobial treatment, organ support technics) are rarely reproduced in the animal models leading to an uncontrolled mismatch between animal models and “real life” of human care