Automated Notification for Early Signs of Sepsis Improves Performance of Some Early Interventions

In a before-and-after study at a single academic emergency department (ED), researchers assessed whether performance of key sepsis interventions was affected by implementing an automated system that notifies clinicians when adult patients meet two or more systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria (temperature <36°C or >38°C, respiratory rate >20 breaths/minute, pulse rate >90 beats/minute, or total white blood cell count <4000 or >12,000 cells/mm³) and have two or more systolic blood pressure measurements ≤90 mm Hg. Clinicians were notified by text message through the paging system and automated entry into the medical record and were provided with decision support and recommendations for treating early SIRS, including four key…