Severe sepsis/septic shock: Do we do what we are supposed to do? Monitoring the adherence of one centre to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign <br><b>Abstract in English</b>

Abstract

AIMS: To monitor adherence to the recommendations of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign during the first six hours of intervention for severe sepsis/septic shock in an academic tertiary care center. METHODS: Cases of patients who were admitted into the Intensive Care Unit of the University Hospital Complex A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, during the months of May-June 2009, with criteria for severe sepsis/septic shock, were analyzed using an observational prospective study. We studied five indicators that comprise the set of intervention measures within the first six hours of diagnosis of severe shock/septic shock: delay on the onset of resuscitation, determination of blood lactate, obtaining appropriate cultures before starting antibiotics, delay on the onset of appropriate antibiotics, and initial resuscitation. RESULTS: In the 13 patients studied, hospital mortality was 30.8% (95% CI: 9.09-61.42). The average APACHE II was 25.46±9.38. The delay in initiation of antibiotic treatment was 1.23±1.76 hours. The average delay in initiation of resuscitation from presentation of symptoms was 3.83±8.85 hours. In 84.62% (95% IC: 54.55-98.08) of the patients, central oxygen saturation was higher than 70% within the first six hours of diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to the set of measures of resuscitation from severe sepsis/septic shock was high.