Sepsis, the Sepsis Syndrome, Multi-Organ Failure: A Plea for Comparable Definitions

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Editorials15 February 1991Sepsis, the Sepsis Syndrome, Multi-Organ Failure: A Plea for Comparable DefinitionsRoger C. Bone, MDRoger C. Bone, MDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-114-4-332 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptPrecision in language is no trivial matter. Considerable confusion arises when terms are defined differently by different clinical subspecialties, or even within a given field. Such is the predicament that has arisen regarding the related, but overlapping terms used for the various degrees of severe clinical infection. Everyone has a vague notion of what the terms bacteremia, septicemia, sepsis, the sepsis syndrome, and septic shock mean. Too often, however, these words are used interchangeablyin speech and in the professional literature, which can lead to considerable bewilderment. Because clinical protocols are based on specific criteria understood by the developers of a...References1. BoneFisherClemmerSlotmanMetzBalk RCTGCR. A controlled clinical trial of high-dose methylprednisolone in the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock. N Engl J Med. 1987;317:353-8. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. SprungCaralisMarcial CPE. The effects of high-dose corticosteroids in patients with septic shock. A prospective, controlled study. N Engl J Med. 1984;311:1137-43. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. . Effect of high-dose glucocorticoid therapy on mortality in patients with clinical signs of sepsis. N Engl J Med. 1987;317:659-65. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 25th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins;1990. Google Scholar5. KregerCravenMcCabe BDW. Gram-negative bacteremia. IV. Re-evaluation of clinical features and treatment in 612 patients. Am J Med. 1980;68:344-55. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. ParkerParrillo MJ. Septic shock. Hemodynamics and pathogenesis. JAMA. 1983;250:3324-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. KnausDraperWagnerZimmerman WEDJ. APACHE II: a severity of disease classification system. Crit Care Med. 1985;13:818-29. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. BellCoalsonSmithJohanson RJJW. Multiple organ system failure and infection in adult respiratory distress syndrome. Ann Intern Med. 1983;99:293-8. LinkGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Roger C. Bone, MDAffiliations: Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center Chicago, IL 60612 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byWhat Is Cytokine Storm?Safety assessment of compliant, highly invasive, lipid A-altered, O-antigen-defected Salmonella strains as prospective vaccine delivery systemsCytokine Storm—Definition, Causes, and ImplicationsThe End of “One Size Fits All” Sepsis Therapies: Toward an Individualized ApproachOuter membrane vesicles as biomimetic vaccine carriers against infections and cancersLocal and systemic effects of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) in inflammation and cancerReflections on Critical Care’s Past, Present, and FutureHealthcare-Associated Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Bacteraemia: Retrospective Evaluation of Treatment and OutcomeOutcomes prediction in longitudinal data: Study designs evaluation, use case in ICU acquired sepsisQuantifying misclassification and bias errors due to hierarchical sepsis scores in real-time sepsis diagnosisIn vitro Impact of Yeast Expressed Hybrid Peptide CATH-2TP5 as a Prophylactic Measure Toward Sepsis and InflammationPhage therapy efficacy: a review of the last 10 years of preclinical studiesA Coordinated Response at The Transcriptome and Interactome Level is Required to Ensure Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Survival during BacteremiaAntioxidant and Cardioprotective Effects of EPA on Early Low-Severity Sepsis through UCP3 and SIRT3 Upholding of the Mitochondrial Redox PotentialDipeptidase-1 Is an Adhesion Receptor for Neutrophil Recruitment in Lungs and LiverPulmonary embolism in intensive care units: More frequent or more Known? Prospective study of 75 casesDiagnosis and Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock: An Evidence-Based ReviewEffect of TNF-α concentration on selected clinical parameters of swine after burnsA prospective multicentre study of the epidemiology and outcomes of bloodstream infection in cirrhotic patientsSafety implication of Salmonella based Brucella vaccine candidate in mice and in vitro human cell cultureSepsis grave y shock séptico en urgenciasValue of Serum Cholinesterase Activity in the Diagnosis of Septic Shock Due to Bacterial InfectionsDifferences in reported sepsis incidence according to study design: a literature reviewCurrent Clinical Controversies in the Management of SepsisIntegrated approach to colorectal anastomotic leakage: Communication, infection and healing disturbancesCorticosteroids for treating sepsisLactobacillus plan