Table 1.

Murine Sepsis Score (MSS) to assess the severity of disease in an experimental model of fecal-induced peritonitis

Variable	Score and description
Appearance	0- Coat is smooth
	1- Patches of hair piloerected
	2- Majority of back is piloerected
	3- Piloerection may or may not be present, mouse appears “puffy”
	4- Piloerection may or may not be present, mouse appears emaciated
Level of consciousness	0- Mouse is active
	1- Mouse is active but avoids standing upright
	2- Mouse activity is noticeably slowed. The mouse is still ambulant.
	3- Activity is impaired. Mouse only moves when provoked, movements have a tremor
	4- Activity severely impaired. Mouse remains stationary when provoked, with possible tremor
Activity	0- Normal amount of activity. Mouse is any of: eating, drinking, climbing, running, fighting
	1- Slightly suppressed activity. Mouse is moving around bottom of cage
	2- Suppressed activity. Mouse is stationary with occasional investigative movements
	3- No activity. Mouse is stationary
	4- No activity. Mouse experiencing tremors, particularly in the hind legs
Response to stimulus	0- Mouse responds immediately to auditory stimulus or touch
	1- Slow or no response to auditory stimulus; strong response to touch (moves to escape)
	2- No response to auditory stimulus; moderate response to touch (moves a few steps)
	3- No response to auditory stimulus; mild response to touch (no locomotion)
	4- No response to auditory stimulus. Little or no response to touch. Cannot right itself if pushed over
Eyes	0- Open
	1- Eyes not fully open, possibly with secretions
	2- Eyes at least half closed, possibly with secretions
	3- Eyes half closed or more, possibly with secretions
	4- Eyes closed or milky
Respiration rate	0- Normal, rapid mouse respiration
	1- Slightly decreased respiration (rate not quantifiable by eye)
	2- Moderately reduced respiration (rate at the upper range of quantifying by eye)
	3- Severely reduced respiration (rate easily countable by eye, 0.5 s between breaths)
	4- Extremely reduced respiration (>1 s between breaths)
Respiration quality	0- Normal
	1- Brief periods of laboured breathing
	2- Laboured, no gasping
	3- Laboured with intermittent gasps
	4- Gasping