Sepsis and Septic Shock

Sepsis is one of the oldest and most elusive syndromes in medicine. In 2001, an international consensus panel defined sepsis as a systemic inflammatory response to infection. Instead, the panel proposed the term “severe sepsis” to describe instances in which sepsis is complicated by acute organ dysfunction, and they codified “septic shock” as sepsis complicated by either hypotension that is refractory to fluid resuscitation or by hyperlactatemia. In the United States, severe sepsis is recorded in 2% of patients admitted to the hospital. Of these patients, half are treated in the intensive care unit (ICU), representing 10% of all ICU admissions. The book will review: Initial Approach to the Patient in Septic Shock, New Therapies, Fluid Resuscitation, Monitoring Strategies, Sedation for Delirium in the ICU, Nutrition in the Acute Phase of Critical Illness.