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One essential step in treating patients with sepsis is early identification. Currently, the definition of sepsis includes the presence of two or more systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria (i.e., tachycardia, tachypnea, alteration in temperature, and abnormal white blood cell count) as well as suspected infection. Severe sepsis is defined as sepsis plus organ failure. Although “two or more SIRS criteria” lacks specificity for sepsis (i.e., many other conditions could cause these abnormalities), this definition might also lack sensitivity.
Investigators from Australia and New Zealand retrospectively identified >100,000 patients with infection and organ failure during a 14-year period. Of those patients, 12% met these clinical…