A 58-year-old ICU patient is recovering from blunt abdominal…
A 58-year-old ICU patient is recovering from blunt abdominal trauma and briefly stabilizes after surgical repair. On hospital day 5, he develops new hypotension, worsening oxygenation, rising creatinine, and elevated lactate. Blood cultures grow gram-negative rods, and labs show markedly increased TNF-α and IL-1 levels. Which mechanism BEST explains the development of secondary multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in this patient?