Sepsis is a severe and life threatening systemic inflammatory
response to an infection that can ultimately progress to severe sepsis
and septic shock. The underlying infection can be attributed to many
pathogens, but it is most commonly caused by gram-positive bacteria
followed by gram-negative in hospitalized patients [1]. Sepsis is among
one of the leading causes of admission to the hospital and is associated
with significant morbidity and mortality among patients. In the United
States alone it affects more than 750,000 patients and accounts for
215,000 deaths annually [2]. When compared to patients hospitalized
for various conditions those with sepsis were found to have a 75%
longer average length stay [3]. Due to the length of stay and attention
that septic patients require it imposes significant financial costs. In
2008, it was estimated $14.6 billion was spent on treating patients who
were hospitalized for sepsis [4]. It is the most costly treated condition
among hospitalized patients and out of the total combined costs for
all hospitalizations in the United States it accounted for 5.2 percent of
the spending [5]. Despite recent medical advances the incidence rate of
sepsis has been shown to be increasing over the previous twenty years
[2]. In order to decrease this trend early identification by nursing and
screening is crucial to see a decrease in patient mortality. Management
should be focused on early fluid and antibiotic administration. It was
shown that for every hour there was a delay in the administration of
appropriate antibiotic medications resulting in a decreased survival
rate of 7.6% during the 6-hour period following the documentation of
hypotension [6]. Even with early intervention, patients who developed
severe sepsis and survived are more likely to develop considerable
neurocognitive and physical impairments [7]