Common Sense Approach to Managing Sepsis

Anders Perner; Lars B Holst; Nicolai Haase; Peter B Hjortrup; Morten H Møller

doi:10.1016/j.ccc.2017.08.009

Common Sense Approach to Managing Sepsis

Crit Care Clin. 2018 Jan;34(1):127-138. doi: 10.1016/j.ccc.2017.08.009. Epub 2017 Oct 5.

Authors

Anders Perner¹, Lars B Holst², Nicolai Haase², Peter B Hjortrup², Morten H Møller²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Intensive Care, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 9, Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark. Electronic address: anders.perner@regionh.dk.
² Department of Intensive Care, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 9, Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark.

PMID: 29149934
DOI: 10.1016/j.ccc.2017.08.009

Abstract

Sepsis results in many deaths, prolonged suffering among survivors and relatives, and high use of resources both in developed and developing countries. The updated Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines should aid clinicians in improving the identification and management of these patients, but many uncertainties remain because most of the guidance is based on low-quality evidence. This article discusses how to use some of the specific items of the guidelines together with a common-sense approach to aid clinical management of patients with sepsis while trying to balance the potential benefit and harm of the items.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Critical care; Fluids; Hemodynamic monitoring; Resuscitation; Sepsis.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Critical Care / standards*
Evidence-Based Medicine / standards*
Humans
Practice Guidelines as Topic*
Sepsis / diagnosis*
Sepsis / therapy*