Severe sepsis, defined as sepsis associated with acute organ dysfunction, remains a serious medical problem worldwide. In the United States alone, approximately 750,000 cases of severe sepsis occur each year, with the mortality rate ranging between 30% and 50% for severe sepsis patients with concomitant organ dysfunction. As the population ages, these numbers are expected to increase. The pathophysiology of severe sepsis is thought to involve the activation of a variety of inflammatory and procoagulant host responses to infection, which if unchecked, can lead to diffuse endovascular injury, multi-organ dysfunction, and ultimately death.