ICU SAQs · Resuscitation
Definitions of sepsis and septic shock
A core Second-Part definitions question. The answer must deliver the exact Sepsis-3 operational criteria for sepsis and septic shock, place qSOFA correctly (as a mortality-risk predictor, not a screening test), and explain the conceptual shift away from SIRS.
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Prompt
Define sepsis and septic shock. Outline the bedside criteria used to identify the patient at risk, and explain why the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) was retired from the definition.
Question
A 68-year-old man is admitted from the emergency department with community-acquired pneumonia, a temperature of 38.9 °C, a respiratory rate of 26, a heart rate of 112, and a blood pressure of 98/52. His lactate is 3.1 mmol/L.[3]
Task: Define sepsis and septic shock. Outline the bedside criteria used to identify the patient at risk, and explain why the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) was retired from the definition.[1]
References3ShowHide
- [1]Singer M, Deutschman CS, Seymour CW, et al. The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). JAMA, 2016.PMID 26903338
- [2]Seymour CW, Liu VX, Iwashyna TJ, et al. Assessment of Clinical Criteria for Sepsis (qSOFA) — for the Sepsis-3 Consensus. JAMA, 2016.PMID 26903335
- [3]Evans L, Rhodes A, Alhazzani W, et al. Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2021. Intensive Care Medicine, 2021.PMID 34599691