Clinical Resources
Clinical practice guides for the management of sepsis were developed by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (a collaboration of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine). These guidelines were updated in 2016.
The Surviving Sepsis Campaign partnered with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to create bundles to help frontline providers implement the guidelines.
Clinical Guidelines
International Guidelines for Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: 2016 (Surviving Sepsis Campaign)
Bundles for Implementing Sepsis Guidelines
- Bundles (Surviving Sepsis Campaign)
- Severe Sepsis Bundles (IHI – free registration required)
What's a bundle?
A bundle is a short, straightforward set of evidence-based practices intended to improve patient outcomes. Bundles were developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to help health care providers more reliably deliver the best possible care for patients.
Education and Training
- Early Recognition and Treatment (American College of Emergency Physicians)
- Surviving Sepsis Campaign, The Takeaways [4:09] (Medscape Expert Commentary)
- New Recommendations for Enhancing Diagnosis (Society of Critical Care Medicine)
- Sepsis Knowledge Area (Society of Critical Care Medicine)
- Webcasts, Presentations, Podcasts, Videos (Surviving Sepsis Campaign)
- Harnessing the Home Care System for Early Sepsis Recognition & Intervention (Quality Improvement Organizations)
Sepsis Screening and Assessment Tools
- Evaluation for Severe Sepsis Screening Tool [PDF – 84 KB] (Surviving Sepsis Campaign)
- Compilation of Sepsis Screening Tools (Surviving Sepsis Campaign)
- Rapid Identification of Sepsis – The Value of Screening Tools (Society of Critical Care Medicine)
- Sepsis Related Organ Failure Assessment [qSOFA]
Printed Information
See the Getting Ahead of Sepsis section for patient and clinician information including
- Factsheets
- Brochures
- Infographics
- Videos
Clinician Videos
Healthcare Professional Continuing Education
CDC, in collaboration with various clinical partners, presents the webinar series, Tune in to Safe Healthcare, focusing on a variety of infection control and prevention topics. Webinars are offered free of cost and provide an opportunity to earn continuing education.
- Sepsis Standard Work: Improving Compliance with Early Recognition and Management of Perinatal Sepsis
- Empowering Nurses for Early Sepsis Recognition
- Advances in Sepsis: Protecting Patients Throughout the Lifespan
Infection Control Guidelines
Medical Bibliography
Selected textbook and journal articles on sepsis.
- Angus, DC, van der Poll, T. Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock. N Engl J Med 2013;369:840-51.
- Ely E, Goyotte RE. Chapter 46. Sepsis with Acute Organ Dysfunction. In: Hall JB, Schmidt GA, Wood LH. eds. Principles of Critical Care, 3e. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2005.
- Felner K, Smith RL. Chapter 138. Sepsis. In: McKean SC, Ross JJ, Dressler DD, Brotman DJ, Ginsberg JS. eds. Principles and Practice of Hospital Medicine. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2012.
- Jui J. Chapter 146. Septic Shock. In: Tintinalli JE, Stapczynski J, Ma O, Cline DM, Cydulka RK, Meckler GD, T. eds. Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide, 7e. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2011.
- Munford RS. Chapter 271. Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock. In: Longo DL, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Jameson J, Loscalzo J. eds. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 18e. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2012.
- Munford RS, Suffredini AF. Chapter 70. Sepsis, Severe Sepsis, and Septic Shock. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R. eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2010
- Page last reviewed: September 16, 2016
- Page last updated: August 21, 2017
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