Sepsis is a common and life-threatening medical condition which has high incidence and mortality rates. Health care professionals are increasingly familiar with this syndrome, and the public is increasingly conscious of its burden to society. A population survey conducted in Singapore in 2010 showed that 53 out of 1067 respondents (5%) had heard of the term ‘sepsis’, compared with 963 out of 1067 respondents (90.3%) who were aware of ‘stroke’.
The definition of the entire sepsis spectrum has evolved and been refined through the past 2 decades via the efforts of passionate international experts. The definition of sepsis, as well as the diagnosis and its myriad complications, are very challenging. One would be familiar with the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC), which was formed by the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM), and the International Sepsis Forum, and launched at the ESICM annual meeting in Barcelona in 2002.
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