Table 1

Definitions used to identify patients with severe sepsis/septic shock. These are adapted from Dellinger RP, Levy MM, Carlet JM, et al Surviving Sepsis Campaign: international guidelines for management of severe sepsis and septic shock: 2008. Crit Care Med 2008;36:296–32711

Any two of the following SIRS criteria?Does the patient have new symptoms/signs of new infection?Any signs of organ dysfunction?

  • Hyperthermia >38°C

  • Hypothermia <36°C

  • Tachycardia >90 bpm

  • Tachypnoea >20 bpm

  • WCC >12 or <4 × 109/l

  • Acutely altered mental state

  • Hyperglycaemia in the absence of diabetes

  • Cough/sputum/chest pain

  • Abdominal pain/distension/ diarrhoea

  • Line infection

  • Endocarditis

  • Dysuria

  • Headache with neck stiffness

  • Cellulitis/wound infection/septic arthritis

  • SBP < 90 mmHg or MAP <65 mmHg

  • Urine output <0.5 ml/kg/h for 2 h

  • INR >1.5 or aPPT >60 s

  • Bilirubin >34 μmol/l

  • Lactate >2 mmol/l

  • New need for oxygen to keep SATS >90%

  • Platelets <100 × 109/l

  • Creatinine >177 mmol/l

  • aPPT, activated partial thromboplastin time; INR, international normalisation ratio; MAP, mean arterial pressure; SATS, haemoglobin oxygen saturation; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SIRS, systemic inflammatory response syndrome; WCC, white cell count.