Introduction Consistent data about the incidence and outcome of sepsis in Latin American intensive care units (ICUs), including Brazil, are lacking. This study was designed to verify the actual incidence density and outcome of sepsis in Brazilian ICUs. We also assessed the association between the Consensus Conference criteria and outcome Methods This is a multicenter observational cohort study performed in five private and public, mixed ICUs from two different regions of Brazil. We prospectively followed 1383 adult patients consecutively admitted to those ICUs from May 2001 to January 2002, until their discharge, 28th day of stay, or death. For all patients we collected the following data at ICU admission: age, gender, hospital and ICU admission diagnosis, APACHE II score, and associated underlying diseases. During the following days, we looked for systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock criteria, as well as recording the sequential organ failure assessment score. Infection was diagnosed according to CDC criteria for nosocomial infection, and for community-acquired infection, clinical, radiological and microbiological parameters were used. Results For the whole cohort, median age was 65.2 years (49-76), median length of stay was 2 days (1-6), and the overall 28-day mortality rate was 21.8%. Considering 1383 patients, the incidence density rates for sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock were 61.4, 35.6 and 30.0 per 1000 patient-days, respectively. The mortality rate of patients with SIRS, sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock increased progressively from 24.3% to 34.7%, 47.3% and 52.2%, respectively. For patients with SIRS without infection the mortality rate was 11.3%. The main source of infection was lung/respiratory tract. Conclusion Our preliminary data suggest that sepsis is a major public health problem in Brazilian ICUs, with an incidence density about 57 per 1000 patient-days. Moreover, there was a close association between ACCP/SCCM categories and mortality rate.

Readmissions to the ICU were frequent and strongly related to poor outcomes. The degree to which ICU readmissions are preventable as well as the main causes of preventable ICU readmissions need to be further determined.

The objective of this study was to identify the initial value of blood lactate that best correlates with 28-day mortality in resuscitated septic shock patients. This was a retrospective cohort study including 443 patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with severe sepsis or septic shock from the emergency department. A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to obtain the best cutoff value for initial blood lactate associated with 28-day mortality. Patients were then dichotomized according to the chosen lactate cutoff, and sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated. Baseline blood lactate level more than 2.5 mmol/L showed the largest area under the ROC curve to predict 28-day mortality (ROC area, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62–0.79), with sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value of 67.4%, 61.7%, and 94.2%, respectively. Mortality at 28 days was 16.9% (31/183) in patients with initial lactate more than 2.5 mmol/L and 5.8% (15/260) in patients with initial lactate at most 2.5 mmol/L (relative risk, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.63–5.28; P < 0.001). Initial blood lactate levels more than 2.5 mmol/L (hazard ratio [HR], 2.86; 95% CI, 1.53–5.33; P = 0.001) and Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment score at ICU admission (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.09–1.27; P < 0.001) were associated with increased 28-day mortality in the adjusted Cox regression. In this retrospective cohort study, a lactate level more than 2.5 mmol/L was the best threshold to predict 28-day mortality among severe sepsis and septic shock patients. Further prospective studies should address the impact on morbidity and mortality of this threshold as a trigger to resuscitation in this population of critically ill patients.

Background Infection control depends on adequate microbe recognition and cell activation, yet inflammatory response may lead to organ dysfunction in sepsis. The aims of this study were to evaluate cell activation in the context of sepsis and its correlation with organ dysfunction.