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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Immunol Rev. 2016 Nov;274(1):330–353. doi: 10.1111/imr.12499

Figure 2. The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock.

Figure 2

The current definitions for sepsis and septic shock were developed to address the limitations of previous definitions that were over focused on SIRS and inflammation. In addition, the Sepsis-3 also dispelled the longstanding notion that SIRS criteria possess adequate specificity and sensitivity to define and diagnose sepsis. Lastly, the report debunked the misleading model that sepsis always follows a linear continuum from the SIRS through severe sepsis and septic shock, and declared the term “severe sepsis” redundant and unnecessary. Instead, the Consensus report recommends that sepsis be defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to an infection.