Skip to main content

Novel Criteria Validated for Pediatric Sepsis, Septic Shock

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 29, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 29, 2024 -- The Phoenix Criteria are valid for identifying sepsis and septic shock in children, according to two studies published online Jan. 21 in the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with the Society of Critical Care Medicine annual Critical Care Congress, held from Jan. 21 to 23 in Phoenix.

Luregn J. Schlapbach, M.D., Ph.D., from the University Children's Hospital Zurich, and colleagues evaluated and updated criteria for sepsis and septic shock in children. The researchers developed new criteria for sepsis and septic shock based on data from an international survey, systematic review, an analysis of more than 3 million pediatric health care encounters, and a consensus process. The authors found that sepsis can be identified by a Phoenix Sepsis Score of ≥2 points in children with suspected infection, indicating life-threatening dysfunction of the respiratory, cardiovascular, coagulation, and/or neurological systems. In-hospital mortality was 7.1 and 28.5 percent higher in higher- and lower-resource settings, respectively, for children with versus without a Phoenix Sepsis Score of at least 2 points. Children with sepsis who had cardiovascular dysfunction, indicated by at least one cardiovascular point in the Phoenix Sepsis Score, were defined as having septic shock.

L. Nelson Sanchez-Pinto, M.D., from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues derived and validated novel criteria for pediatric sepsis and septic shock in a multicenter, international, retrospective cohort study. The researchers found that a four-organ system model performed best among the 172,984 children with suspected infection in the first 24 hours (development set, 1.2 percent mortality). For predicting mortality in the validation sets, the integer version of that model, the Phoenix Sepsis Score, had areas under the precision recall curve of 0.23 to 0.38 and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.71 to 0.92.

"These criteria are better than the old ones at identifying children with infections at higher risk of poor outcomes and are globally applicable, including in low-resource settings," Sanchez-Pinto said in a statement.

Several authors from both studies disclosed ties to industry.

Abstract/Full Text - Schlapbach

Abstract/Full Text - Sanchez-Pinto

Editorial 1

Editorial 2

More Information

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

AI Model for Early Prediction of Sepsis Improves Outcomes

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 -- Deployment of COMPOSER for early prediction of sepsis is associated with significant improvements in outcomes, including mortality, according to a...

Oral Switch Noninferior for Low-Risk S. Aureus Bloodstream Infection

FRIDAY, Jan. 26, 2024 -- For patients with low-risk Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bloodstream infection, early switch to oral antimicrobial therapy is noninferior to...

Limited English Proficiency Not Linked to Sepsis Mortality Overall

FRIDAY, Jan. 5, 2024 -- Limited English proficiency (LEP) is not associated with overall sepsis mortality, but in a subgroup analysis, it was associated with mortality among those...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.