Early goal-directed therapy provides significant benefits with respect to outcome in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.

Lactate clearance early in the hospital course may indicate a resolution of global tissue hypoxia and is associated with decreased mortality rate. Patients with higher lactate clearance after 6 hrs of emergency department intervention have improved outcome compared with those with lower lactate clearance.

Acute myocardial infarction can be excluded rapidly in the emergency department by use of point-of-care measurements of myoglobin and troponin I during the first 90 minutes after presentation.