In silico modeling: Methods and applications to trauma and sepsis

Objectives: To familiarize clinicians with advances in computational disease modeling applied to trauma and sepsis. Data Sources: PubMed search and review of relevant medical literature. Summary: Definitions, key methods, and applications of computational modeling to trauma and sepsis are reviewed. Conclusions: Computational modeling of inflammation and organ dysfunction at the cellular, organ, whole-organism, and population levels has suggested a positive feedback cycle of inflammation → damage → inflammation that manifests via organ-specific inflammatory switching networks. This structure may manifest as multicompartment "tipping points" that drive multiple organ dysfunction. This process may be amenable to rational inflammation reprogramming.