Secondary objectives included: (1) to assess whether treatment with drotrecogin alfa (activated) reduced 28-day all-cause mortality in pediatric patients with severe sepsis compared with placebo patients, (2) to evaluate the effects of drotrecogin alfa (activated) on individual organ dysfunction (cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, hepatic, hematologic, neurologic, and cutaneous), (3) to demonstrate that drotrecogin alfa (activated) improved patient outcome as assessed by the Pediatric Overall Performance Category (POPC) scale, (4) to demonstrate that drotrecogin alfa (activated) reduced major amputations (at or above the wrist, at or above the ankle, face, and genitals) in pediatric patients with Neisseria meningitidis (proven or suspected) and/or purpura fulminans, (5) to demonstrate that drotrecogin alfa (activated) had antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory properties. The safety objective was to evaluate whether drotrecogin alfa (activated) had an acceptable safety profile when administered to pediatric patients with severe sepsis.