Loading...
Severe sepsis and septic shock are associated with a mortality rate >30% in the U.S. Early, goal-directed cardiovascular resuscitation and rapid initiation of adequate antibiotic therapy have proved beneficial for patients with sepsis and have become essential elements of sepsis treatment guidelines. However, clinicians often do not follow such guidelines in daily practice.
To improve sepsis outcome at a St. Louis hospital, a standardized order set for treating severe sepsis and septic shock, based on recommendations from the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, was implemented hospital-wide in June 2005. Now, in a retrospective study involving 400 patients with sepsis, researchers have compared patient care and outcomes between the 18 months before o…