SPECIAL ARTICLES

Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines for management of severe sepsis and septic shock

Dellinger, R. Phillip MD; Carlet, Jean M. MD; Masur, Henry MD; Gerlach, Herwig MD, PhD; Calandra, Thierry MD; Cohen, Jonathan MD; Gea-Banacloche, Juan MD, PhD; Keh, Didier MD; Marshall, John C. MD; Parker, Margaret M. MD; Ramsay, Graham MD; Zimmerman, Janice L. MD; Vincent, Jean-Louis MD, PhD; Levy, Mitchell M. MD for the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Management Guidelines Committee

Author Information

Surviving Sepsis Campaign Management Guidelines Committee. Chairs: R. Phillip Dellinger, MD*; Henry Masur, MD; Jean M. Carlet, MD; Herwig Gerlach, MD, PhD**. Committee Members: Richard J. Beale, MD**; Marc Bonten, MD; Christian Brun-Buisson, MD; Thierry Calandra, MD; Joseph A. Carcillo, MD; Jonathan Cohen, MD**; Catherine Cordonnier, MD; E. Patchen Dellinger, MD; Jean-Francois Dhainaut, MD, PhD; Roger G. Finch, MD; Simon Finfer, MD; Francois A. Fourrier, MD; Juan Gea-Banacloche, MD; Maurene A. Harvey, RN, MPH**; Jan A. Hazelzet, MD; Steven M. Hollenberg, MD; James H. Jorgensen, PhD; Didier Keh, MD; Mitchell M. Levy, MD*; Ronald V. Maier, MD; Dennis G. Maki, MD; John J. Marini, MD; John C. Marshall, MD; Steven M. Opal, MD; Tiffany M. Osborn, MD; Margaret M. Parker, MD**; Joseph E. Parrillo, MD; Graham Ramsay, MD*; Andrew Rhodes, MD; Jonathan E. Sevransky, MD; Charles L. Sprung, MD, JD**; Antoni Torres, MD; Jeffery S. Vender, MD; Jean-Louis Vincent, MD, PhD**; Janice L. Zimmerman, MD. Associate Members: E. David Bennett, MD; Pierre-Yves Bochud, MD; Alain Cariou, MD; Glenn S. Murphy, MD; Martin Nitsun, MD; Joseph W. Szokol, MD; Stephen Trzeciak, MD; Christophe Vinsonneau, MD. *Executive Committee, Surviving Sepsis Campaign. **Steering Committee, Surviving Sepsis Campaign. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign is administered jointly by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, International Sepsis Forum, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine and is supported in part by unrestricted educational grants from Baxter Bioscience, Edwards Lifesciences, and Eli Lilly and Company (majority sponsor).

Use of trade names or names of commercial sources is for information only and does not imply endorsement by the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

The authors and the publisher have exercised great care to ensure that drug dosages, formulas, and other information presented in this publication are accurate and in accord with the professional standards in effect at the time of publication. Readers are, however, advised to always check the manufacturer’s product information sheet that is packaged with the respective products to be fully informed of changes in recommended dosages, contraindications, and the like before prescribing or administering any drug.

Also published in Intensive Care Medicine (May).

Sponsoring Organizations: American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Thoracic Society, Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, European Respiratory Society, International Sepsis Forum, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Surgical Infection Society.

Address requests for reprints to: R. Phillip Dellinger, MD, Cooper Health Systems, One Cooper Plaza, 393 Dorrance, Camden, NJ 08103.

Critical Care Medicine 32(3):p 858-873, March 2004. | DOI: 10.1097/01.CCM.0000117317.18092.E4

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Errata

Abstract

Objective

In 2003, critical care and infectious disease experts representing 11 international organizations developed management guidelines for severe sepsis and septic shock that would be of practical use for the bedside clinician, under the auspices of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, an international effort to increase awareness and improve outcome in severe sepsis.

Design

The process included a modified Delphi method, a consensus conference, several subsequent smaller meetings of subgroups and key individuals, teleconferences, and electronic-based discussion among subgroups and among the entire committee.

Methods

We used a modified Delphi methodology for grading recommendations, built on a 2001 publication sponsored by the International Sepsis Forum. We undertook a systematic review of the literature graded along five levels to create recommendation grades from A to E, with A being the highest grade. Pediatric considerations were provided to contrast adult and pediatric management.

Results

Key recommendations, listed by category and not by hierarchy, include early goal-directed resuscitation of the septic patient during the first 6 hrs after recognition; appropriate diagnostic studies to ascertain causative organisms before starting antibiotics; early administration of broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy; reassessment of antibiotic therapy with microbiology and clinical data to narrow coverage, when appropriate; a usual 7–10 days of antibiotic therapy guided by clinical response; source control with attention to the method that balances risks and benefits; equivalence of crystalloid and colloid resuscitation; aggressive fluid challenge to restore mean circulating filling pressure; vasopressor preference for norepinephrine and dopamine; cautious use of vasopressin pending further studies; avoiding low-dose dopamine administration for renal protection; consideration of dobutamine inotropic therapy in some clinical situations; avoidance of supranormal oxygen delivery as a goal of therapy; stress-dose steroid therapy for septic shock; use of recombinant activated protein C in patients with severe sepsis and high risk for death; with resolution of tissue hypoperfusion and in the absence of coronary artery disease or acute hemorrhage, targeting a hemoglobin of 7–9 g/dL; appropriate use of fresh frozen plasma and platelets; a low tidal volume and limitation of inspiratory plateau pressure strategy for acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome; application of a minimal amount of positive end-expiratory pressure in acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome; a semirecumbent bed position unless contraindicated; protocols for weaning and sedation/analgesia, using either intermittent bolus sedation or continuous infusion sedation with daily interruptions/lightening; avoidance of neuromuscular blockers, if at all possible; maintenance of blood glucose <150 mg/dL after initial stabilization; equivalence of continuous veno-veno hemofiltration and intermittent hemodialysis; lack of utility of bicarbonate use for pH ≥7.15; use of deep vein thrombosis/stress ulcer prophylaxis; and consideration of limitation of support where appropriate. Pediatric considerations included a more likely need for intubation due to low functional residual capacity; more difficult intravenous access; fluid resuscitation based on weight with 40–60 mL/kg or higher needed; decreased cardiac output and increased systemic vascular resistance as the most common hemodynamic profile; greater use of physical examination therapeutic end points; unsettled issue of high-dose steroids for therapy of septic shock; and greater risk of hypoglycemia with aggressive glucose control.

Conclusion

Evidence-based recommendations can be made regarding many aspects of the acute management of sepsis and septic shock that are hoped to translate into improved outcomes for the critically ill patient. The impact of these guidelines will be formally tested and guidelines updated annually and even more rapidly as some important new knowledge becomes available.

Errata

In the article, “Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines for management of severe sepsis and septic shock,” by Dellinger et al., published in the March 2004 issue of Critical Care Medicine, page 863, middle column, 5th paragraph, the incorrect daily administration of fludrocortisone was given. The paragraph should read as follows: d. Some experts would add fludrocortisone (50 μg orally once daily) to this regimen.

The authors regret the error.

Critical Care Medicine. 32(6):1448, June 2004.

The primary investigators of recent successful critical care clinical trials with application to the management of severe sepsis were not considered for committee membership.

Also, please note that on page 863, middle column, recommendation H.1.d, the sentence should read as follows:

d. Some experts would add fludrocortisone (50 μg once a day) to this regimen.

The authors regret the errors.

Critical Care Medicine. 32(10):2169-2170, October 2004.