Sepsis
Use this guide to find information resource about recognising and caring for adults with presumed sepsis including books, reports and journal articles.
Last updated:
14/06/2024
Key Resources
Royal College of Physicians (2017) National Early Warning Score (NEWS) 2.
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (2022) Statement on the initial antimicrobial treatment of sepsis V2.0. London: AoMRC.
The UK Sepsis Trust: Clinical tools
The UK Sepsis Trust (2024) The sepsis manual. 7th edn. Birmingham: The UK Sepsis Trust.
NHS England: Sepsis.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2016) Sepsis: recognition, diagnosis and early management. NICE guideline NG51. Updated 31 January 2024.
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Please check that guidance is applicable for your country. NICE guidance is officially England and Wales only.
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NHS England (2017) Sepsis guidance implementation advice for adults, London: NHS England.
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This document describes an operational definition of sepsis and supports the implementation of the NICE guidelines on the identification and treatment of sepsis.
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Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (2023) Care of the deteriorating patient: consensus recommendations 167, Edinburgh: SIGN.
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) (2023) Spotlight on sepsis: your stories, your rights.
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This report looks at some of the sepsis complaints people have brought to the PHSO, to shine a light on their experiences and encourage others to let their voices be heard
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Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) (2013) Time to act: severe sepsis - rapid diagnosis and treatment saves lives.
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This report focuses on ten complaints the PHSO investigated about patients with severe sepsis who did not receive the treatment they urgently needed.
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National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (2015) Sepsis: just say sepsis!
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This NCEPOD report highlights the process of care for patients aged 16 years or older with sepsis. The report takes a critical look at areas where the care of patients might have been improved.
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Evans L, Rhodes A, Alhazzani W et al. (2021) Executive summary: Surviving Sepsis Campaign: international guidelines for the management of sepsis and septic shock 2021, Critical Care Medicine, 49(11), pp. 1974–1982.
Evans L, Rhodes A, Alhazzani W et al. (2021) Surviving Sepsis Campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2021, Critical Care Medicine, 49(11), p. e1063.
Singer M, Deutschman CS, Seymour C, et al. (2016) The third international consensus definitions for sepsis and septic shock (sepsis-3), JAMA, 315 (8) pp.801-810.
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Includes the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score.
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European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM): Guidelines and consensus statements
We would like to thank the RCN Critical Care and In-flight nursing community for their input into the development of this subject guide.
Journal articles
Use these links for details of journal articles on each topic.
Journals
Journals of interest for sepsis. Use these links to see details of availability.
This subject guide relates to:
Caroline Lynch
Editor of this guide
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Page last updated - 14/06/2024