I’m sure you guys have heard about the new sepsis definitions unveiled at the SCCM conference last week which were originally published in JAMA (2016;315(8):801-810); if not you’re in luck because I’ve outlined them for you below.  Keep in mind the sepsis definition has not been updated since most of you were still in high school- or middle school- I’m showing my age, in 2001, with Sepsis-2.

Sepsis-3:

New Terms and Definitions

• Sepsis: Life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection
• Organ dysfunction: Acute change in total SOFA score ≥2 points consequent to the infection
• Identification of patients likely to have poor outcomes:
  • ICU Patients: SOFA score ≥2: Overall mortality risk of approximately 10% in a general hospital population with suspected infection
  • ED patients: qSOFA score >2 (SBP < 100 mm Hg, RR > 22, or altered mental status)
    • These patients are likely to have a prolonged ICU stay or to die in the hospital
  • Septic shock: Sepsis with persisting hypotension requiring vasopressors to maintain MAP ≥65 and a serum lactate level >2 mmol/L despite adequate volume resuscitation
    • Hospital mortality is in excess of 40%
  • The term “severe sepsis” has been abandoned