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Review article: Sepsis in the emergency department – Part 1: Definitions and outcomes
Author(s) -
Macdonald Stephen PJ,
Williams Julian M,
Shetty Amith,
Bellomo Rinaldo,
Finfer Simon,
Shapiro Nathan,
Keijzers Gerben
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
emergency medicine australasia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.602
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1742-6723
pISSN - 1742-6731
DOI - 10.1111/1742-6723.12886
Subject(s) - medicine , sepsis , emergency department , organ dysfunction , intensive care medicine , psychiatry
Sepsis has recently been redefined as acute organ dysfunction due to infection. The ED plays a critical role in identifying patients with sepsis. This is challenging due to the heterogeneity of the syndrome, and the lack of an objective standard diagnostic test. While overall mortality rates from sepsis appear to be falling, there is an increasing burden of morbidity among survivors. This largely reflects the growing proportion of older patients with comorbid illnesses among those treated for sepsis.