Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jul;104(4):573-585.
doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2020.02.011. Epub 2020 May 12.

Sepsis and Septic Shock - Basics of diagnosis, pathophysiology and clinical decision making

Michael D Font  1 , Braghadheeswar Thyagarajan  2 , Ashish K Khanna  3
Affiliations
Review

Sepsis and Septic Shock - Basics of diagnosis, pathophysiology and clinical decision making

Michael D Font et al. Med Clin North Am. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Sepsis and septic shock are major causes of mortality among hospitalized patients. The sepsis state is due to dysregulated host response to infection, leading to inflammatory damage to nearly every organ system. Early recognition of sepsis and appropriate treatment with antibiotics, fluids, and vasopressors is essential to reducing organ system injury and mortality. This review summarizes the current understanding of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of sepsis and septic shock.

Keywords: Critical care; SIRS; Sepsis; Septic shock; Vasopressors; qSOFA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure Departmental resources supported this work. The authors have nothing to disclose.

Substances