Surgical Critical Care for the Patient with Sepsis and Multiple Organ Dysfunction

Sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is common in the surgical intensive care unit. Sepsis involves infection and the patient's immune response. Timely recognition of sepsis and swift application of evidence-based interventions is critical to the success of therapy. This article reviews the nature of the septic process, existing definitions of sepsis, and current evidence-based treatment strategies for sepsis and MODS. An improved understanding of the process of sepsis and its relation to MODS has resulted in clinical definitions and scoring systems that allow for the quantification of disease severity and guidelines for treatment.