Trial reportThorax2018
Randomised controlled trial of GM-CSF in critically ill patients with impaired neutrophil phagocytosis.
Trial report in Thorax, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genome-Scale Meta-analysis of Host Responses to Staphylococcus aureus Identifies Pathways for Host-Directed Therapeutic Targeting.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2025Pooled it
- Monocytes in pneumonia: Functional plasticity and innate memory (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Blocking Extracellular Cyclophilin A-Mediated Adhesion Protects Against Bacterial Infection.MedComm · 2026Article
- GM-CSF Promotes Neutrophil PD-L1 Expression Through the VEGFR-2/STAT6/CSF2 Signaling Axis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Sepsis-related immunosuppression: a comprehensive review of current research breakthroughs.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Review
- Inflammatory Stewardship-A Perspective for Active Management of Acute Inflammation.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- Review
- Interferon gamma applied ex vivo restores function to neutrophils from critically ill patients.Thorax · 2026Observational
- Respiratory Virus Coinfection Is a Risk Factor for Adverse Outcomes DuringOpen forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Impaired systemic antibody response against gut microbiota pathobionts in critical illness and susceptibility to nosocomial infections.Intensive care medicine experimental · 2026Article
- Transcending metabolic acidosis: lactate as an epigenetic signal reprogramming diabetes-sepsis immunity.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Recombinant GM-CSF drug evaluation review.Immunotherapy · 2025Review
- Immunosenescence in Sepsis: Molecular Mechanisms and Potential Therapeutic Targets.Aging and disease · 2025Review
- Targeting sepsis through inflammation and oxidative metabolism.World journal of critical care medicine · 2025Review
- Tissue macrophages: origin, heterogenity, biological functions, diseases and therapeutic targets.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2025Review
- The effect of GM-CSF and predictors of treatment outcome in pediatric septic shock patients.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- FUNCTIONAL IMMUNOPHENOTYPING FOR PRECISION THERAPIES IN SEPSIS.Shock (Augusta, Ga.) · 2025Review
- Article
- Review
- Association between intracellular adenosine triphosphate content of CD4Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2024Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
21 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCritically ill patients with impaired neutrophil phagocytosis have significantly increased risk of nosocomial infection. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) improves phagocytosis by neutrophils ex vivo. This study tested the hypothesis that GM-CSF improves neutrophil phagocytosis in critically ill patients in whom phagocytosis is known to be impaired.
methodsThis was a multicentre, phase IIa randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Using a personalised medicine approach, only critically ill patients with impaired neutrophil phagocytosis were included. Patients were randomised 1:1 to subcutaneous GM-CSF (3 μg/kg/day) or placebo, once daily for 4 days. The primary outcome measure was neutrophil phagocytosis 2 days after initiation of GM-CSF. Secondary outcomes included neutrophil phagocytosis over time, neutrophil functions other than phagocytosis, monocyte HLA-DR expression and safety.
resultsThirty-eight patients were recruited from five intensive care units (17 randomised to GM-CSF). Mean neutrophil phagocytosis at day 2 was 57.2% (SD 13.2%) in the GM-CSF group and 49.8% (13.4%) in the placebo group, p=0.73. The proportion of patients with neutrophil phagocytosis≥50% at day 2, and monocyte HLA-DR, appeared significantly higher in the GM-CSF group. Neutrophil functions other than phagocytosis did not appear significantly different between the groups. The most common adverse event associated with GM-CSF was fever.
conclusionsGM-CSF did not improve mean neutrophil phagocytosis at day 2, but was safe and appeared to increase the proportion of patients with adequate phagocytosis. The study suggests proof of principle for a pharmacological effect on neutrophil function in a subset of critically ill patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.