Sepsis and Multiple Organ Failure: Consensus and Controversy

Abstract

Sepsis and its related sequelae, including sepsis, shock and multiple organ failure (MOF), are currently the subject of much discussion and some controversy. They are an important source of hospital morbidity and mortality; and a subject that all physicians should be familiar with-yet the pathogenesis of these diseases is still not fully understood. Research into their causes is progressing and new methods of diagnosis and treatment are being developed. In developing the protocols for clinical trials, and too, for basic research into the condition, investigators have run into an important problem: the terms used to describe the conditions have been imprecise or poorly defined. It is important that researchers be able to communicate with each other about their work, and that the knowledge gained through their work is disseminated efficiently and accurately to physicians. It is just as important that the physician dispensing health care to patients be able to accurately describe their condition. Thus, for people involved in medically diagnosing and treating sepsis and for those involved in researching sepsis, the terminology used to define various conditions that relate to sepsis is an important issue.