Emergency medicine clinics of North America
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Sepsis is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome that encompasses infections of many different types and severity. Not surprisingly, it has confounded most attempts to apply a single definition, which has also limited the ability to develop a set of reliable diagnostic criteria. It is perhaps best defined as the different clinical syndromes produced by an immune response to infection that causes harm to the body beyond that of the local effects of the infection.
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Pediatric sepsis is distinct from adult sepsis in its definitions, clinical presentations, and management. Recognition of pediatric sepsis is complicated by the various pediatric-specific comorbidities that contribute to its mortality and the age- and development-specific vital sign and clinical parameters that obscure its recognition. This article outlines the clinical presentation and management of sepsis in neonates, infants, and children, and highlights some key populations who require specialized care.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Feb 2017
ReviewThe Past, Present, and Future of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Quality Measure SEP-1: The Early Management Bundle for Severe Sepsis/Septic Shock.
SEP-1, the new national quality measure on sepsis, resulted from an undertaking to standardize care for severe sepsis and septic shock regardless of the size of the emergency department where the patient is being treated. SEP-1 does not necessarily follow the best current evidence available. ⋯ SEP-1 is the first national quality measure on early management of sepsis care. This article provides a review of SEP-1 and all its potential implications on sepsis care in the United States.