Epidemiology and outcome of sepsis syndromes in Italian ICUs: A multicentre, observational cohort study in the region of Piedmont

Background. Sepsis is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in the intensive care unit (ICU). We performed a study to describe the epidemiology of sepsis syndromes in patients admitted toICUs of the Piedmont region. Methods. In this prospective, multicentre, observational study, all 3902 patients admitted to a network of 24 ICUs from 17 hospitals during a 180 day period (April 3-September 29, 2006) were included. Patients were followed from the first day of admission until death or ICU discharge. Results. The incidence of sepsis during the ICU stay was 11.4% (N.=446), corresponding to an incidence of 25 cases/100,000 inhabitants/year; 141 (31.6%) patients had only sepsis, 160 patients had severe sepsis (35.9%) and 145 patients (32.5%) had septic shock In 227 patients (50.9%), sepsis was observed within 48 hours after admission to the ICU, and 219 patients (49.1%) developed ICU-acquired sepsis. The main sources of infection were the lungs, abdomen, and urinary tract. ICU mortality was higher (41.3 vs. 17.3%, P