Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2013
Timing of appropriate antibiotics in patients with septic shock: a retrospective cohort study.
The objective of the present study was to describe the factors associated with delays in the delivery of appropriate antibiotics to patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) from the ED or wards with septic shock. ⋯ This retrospective cohort study found that there were significant delays associated with the administration of appropriate antibiotics in patients admitted to the ICU from the ED or the wards with septic shock. Delays were greater in patients who were not seen by an emergency physician, those in whom the diagnosis of sepsis was not considered initially and in those whose therapy was delayed while awaiting the performance of investigations.