New Recommendations Aim to Redefine Definition and Enhance Diagnosis of Sepsis, Septic Shock

A task force of leading sepsis experts is putting forth important, new recommendations for physicians. The group’s recommendations not only advance new definitions for sepsis and septic shock, but also offer clinical guidance to help physicians more quickly identify patients with or at risk of developing sepsis.

The recommendations are published in the February 2016 issue of JAMA and were recently highlighted for clinicians and media at the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) 45th Critical Care Congress in Orlando, Florida.

The task force of 19 leaders in the field of sepsis was convened by SCCM and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM). The group’s recommendations have been endorsed by more than 30 medical societies from six continents, spanning disciplines from critical care and emergency medicine to infectious disease and family practice.