[New definitions for sepsis and septic shock - Sepsis-3]

The article discusses new definitions for sepsis and septic shock called Sepsis-3. The definitions are put in the historical and factual context of the 1992 definition and their extended 2003 version. Also mentioned are potential impacts on clinical practice, with it-being clear that the new definition shifts the sepsis issues more to intensive care as it emphasizes organ failure. In prehospital care, emergency departments and general wards of hospitals where patients are triaged, a new scoring system, the so-called quick SOFA, may be used. In this approach, stress is placed on impaired consciousness, a drop in systolic pressure and tachypnea but its role in more precise identification is yet to be verified in common clinical practice.