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Principles and Management of Sepsis

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Best 2022 Clinical Cases in Intensive Care Medicine

Part of the book series: Lessons from the ICU ((LEICU))

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Abstract

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. It is a leading cause of hospitalization and death, with mortality rates ranging from 20 to 50% depending on the severity of the condition. The mainstay of treatment for septic shock is early identification and aggressive management of the underlying infection with intravenous antibiotics (“1-h bundle”). Other supportive measures include fluid resuscitation to restore macro- and microperfusion, vasopressors, and mechanical ventilation to support respiratory function. In severe cases, patients may require advanced organ support measures such as dialysis, ECMO, or blood purification methods. The key to improving outcomes in patients with septic shock is early identification and prompt initiation of treatment. There is ongoing research to identify new and improved treatments for sepsis, with a particular focus on targeted therapies that address the underlying pathophysiology of the condition. Here, phenotyping to identify specific subtypes of sepsis and patient characteristics to tailor treatment accordingly is of special research interest. This involves the use of biomarkers, RNA, and next-generation sequencing to classify patients into different subgroups based on their underlying biology. This approach has the potential to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment selection in sepsis in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Operative Intensive Care Medicine (CVK/CCM), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Andreas Edel

  2. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine, Munich, Germany

    Kristina Fuest

  3. Polyvalent ICU, Thoracic Diseases, General Hospital “Sotiria”, Athens, Greece

    George Karlis

Authors
  1. Andreas Edel
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  2. Kristina Fuest
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  3. George Karlis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreas Edel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Hospital Universitario Río Hortega, Valladolid, Spain

    David Pérez-Torres

  2. Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Intensive Care Medicine Department, Barcelona, Spain

    María Martínez-Martínez

  3. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (CCM/CVK), Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany

    Stefan J. Schaller

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Edel, A., Fuest, K., Karlis, G. (2023). Principles and Management of Sepsis. In: Pérez-Torres, D., Martínez-Martínez, M., Schaller, S.J. (eds) Best 2022 Clinical Cases in Intensive Care Medicine. Lessons from the ICU. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36398-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36398-6_1

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