Definition of sepsis and septic shock in adults
Life-threatening organ dysfunction in response to infection is necessary for a diagnosis of sepsis. Signs of life-threatening organ dysfunction in adults lists signs of life-threatening organ dysfunction in adults.
An adult should be considered to have septic shock if they have sepsis and, despite adequate fluid resuscitation, either of the following features1:
- inability to maintain a mean arterial pressure of 65 mmHg (or a systolic blood pressure of 90 mmHg) without vasopressors
- blood lactate concentration more than 2 mmol/L.
1 The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3) require the patient to have both features for a diagnosis of septic shock. However, because the risk of mortality remains high in patients who have only one feature, the consensus of the Antibiotic Expert Group is that patients with either feature should be considered to have septic shock. See: Singer M, Deutschman CS, Seymour CW, Shankar-Hari M, Annane D, Bauer M, et al. The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). JAMA 2016;315(8):801-10. [URL].Return