Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2016 Dec;42(12):1980-1989.
doi: 10.1007/s00134-016-4504-3. Epub 2016 Sep 29.

Incidence of severe sepsis and septic shock in German intensive care units: the prospective, multicentre INSEP study

SepNet Critical Care Trials Group
Observational Study

Incidence of severe sepsis and septic shock in German intensive care units: the prospective, multicentre INSEP study

SepNet Critical Care Trials Group. Intensive Care Med. 2016 Dec.

Erratum in

Abstract

Purpose: To estimate the incidence density, point prevalence and outcome of severe sepsis and septic shock in German intensive care units (ICUs).

Methods: In a prospective, multicentre, longitudinal observational study, all patients already on the ICU at 0:00 on 4 November 2013 and all patients admitted to a participating ICU between 0:00 on 4 November 2013 and 2359 hours on 1 December 2013 were included. The patients were followed up for the occurrence of severe sepsis or septic shock (SEPSIS-1 definitions) during their ICU stay.

Results: A total of 11,883 patients from 133 ICUs at 95 German hospitals were included in the study, of whom 1503 (12.6 %) were diagnosed with severe sepsis or septic shock. In 860 cases (57.2 %) the infections were of nosocomial origin. The point prevalence was 17.9 % (95 % CI 16.3-19.7).The calculated incidence rate of severe sepsis or septic shock was 11.64 (95 % CI 10.51-12.86) per 1000 ICU days. ICU mortality in patients with severe sepsis/septic shock was 34.3 %, compared with 6 % in those without sepsis. Total hospital mortality of patients with severe sepsis or septic shock was 40.4 %. Classification of the septic shock patients using the new SEPSIS-3 definitions showed higher ICU and hospital mortality (44.3 and 50.9 %).

Conclusions: Severe sepsis and septic shock continue to be a frequent syndrome associated with high hospital mortality. Nosocomial infections play a major role in the development of sepsis. This study presents a pragmatic, affordable and feasible method for the surveillance of sepsis epidemiology. Implementation of the new SEPSIS-3 definitions may have a major effect on future epidemiological data.

Keywords: Incidence; Incidence density; Prevalence; Sepsis; Septic shock.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Chest. 2011 Nov;140(5):1223-1231 - PubMed
    1. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2011 Feb;108(6):87-93 - PubMed
    1. N Engl J Med. 2014 Apr 24;370(17):1583-93 - PubMed
    1. JAMA. 2010 Oct 27;304(16):1787-94 - PubMed
    1. Crit Care Med. 2007 May;35(5):1244-50 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources