[Adherence to international guidelines on early management in severe sepsis and septic shock]

Complete adherence to early goal-directed therapy has shown a significant reduction in 28-day mortality rate, whereas partial adherence has not shown beneficial effect.

The effect of adherence to 6 hour sepsis bundle treatment was evaluated on patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.

A prospective cohort study was conducted during a six-month period. The patients were limited to those 16 years or older and included admissions to intensive care units, special care units or emergency departments with severe sepsis or septic shock. The adherence to the 6-hour sepsis bundle was evaluated through 8 interventions as follows: (1) serum lactate measure,( 2) early antibiotic administration, (3) blood culture samples, (4) infusion of intravenous fluids, (5) vasopressor use, (6) central venous catheter, (7) central venous pressure >8 mm Hg, and (8) central venous oxygen saturation >70%.

Seven hundred and twenty three patients were screened; 16% (n=116) met the inclusion criteria; 92.2% (n=107) met the criteria for severe sepsis and 37.9% (44) for septic shock; 62.9% (n=73) were subdiagnosed. Complete adherence to the 8 interventions of 6-hour sepsis bundle was 0%; 6 to 7 (19%, n=22), 3 to 5 (67.2%, n=78), and 0 to 2 (98.3%, n=114).

Adherence to 6-hour sepsis bundle treatment for severe sepsis and septic shock was not done for the full 8 interventions and only partial accomplishment of the first 4 interventions.