Sepsis is a common phenomenon surrounded by uncertainty and misunderstanding. The urgency for treatment is complicated by the vagueness of signs and symptoms and lack of a conclusive diagnostic test. This article unpicks the signs and symptoms of sepsis with guidance for emergency department nurses who are responsible for assessing patients with potential sepsis. The article also relates monitoring, investigation and treatment expectations to the underlying pathophysiology and refers to the individual and global implications of the condition.
Emergency Nurse. doi: 10.7748/en.2019.e1926
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Hunt A (2019) Sepsis: an overview of the signs, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and pathophysiology. Emergency Nurse. doi: 10.7748/en.2019.e1926
Published online: 07 August 2019
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