 Article
|
|
|
|
Services
|
|
|
|
Google Scholar
|
|
|
|
PubMed
|
|
|
|
LETTER
Update in Critical Care Medicine
James R. Johnson, MD
15 June 1997 | Volume 126 Issue 12 | Page 1004
TO THE EDITOR:
The reviewers of a recent study of sepsis-related clinical states [1] concluded that the systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock "... often seem to occur in the absence of confirmed infection" [2]. This conclusion contradicts the definitions of sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock, which require the presence of a confirmed infectious process. The authors' intended meaning was probably that the physiologic derangements observed in these syndromes often follow noninfectious insults in the absence of infection, which is true. However, it must be recognized that in the absence of a confirmed infection, a condition cannot (by definition) properly be termed sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock. Although this could be considered semantic quibbling, adherence to clear and consistent definitions is fundamental to sound epidemiologic investigation and to coherent understanding of the processes in question.
|
Author and Article Information
|
|---|
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55417
1. Rangel-Frausto MS, Pittet D, Costigan M, Hwang T, Davis CS, Wenzel RP. The natural history of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). A prospective study. JAMA. 1995; 273:117-23.
2. Tobin MJ, Luce JM. Update in critical care medicine. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 125:909-16.
About Letters
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
N. K. Schiller, W. A. Boisvert, and L. K. Curtiss
Inflammation in Atherosclerosis: Lesion Formation in LDL Receptor-Deficient Mice With Perforin and Lystbeige Mutations
Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol.,
August 1, 2002;
22(8):
1341 - 1346.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
Article
|
|
|
|
Services
|
|
|
|
Google Scholar
|
|
|
|
PubMed
|
|
|
|
Top
Author & Article Info
References