Observational StudyA Retrospective Review of a Comprehensive Cohort of Septic Shock: Assessment of Critical Determinants of Outcome

Septic shock remains the dominant cause of death in ICU's of the developed world with approximately 400,000 cases annually in the US and another 20,000 annually in Canada. While many retrospective and prospective reviews of septic shock patients have been undertaken worldwide, many key questions remain unanswered. These questions include the true incidence, associated morbidity and mortality of septic shock in North America, key factors associated with successful management and markers suggesting a high probability of a complicated clinical course. Part of the reason for the persistence of these questions, is the fact that previous and ongoing reviews of septic shock and severe sepsis have been either limited in number (typically <150) or biased by the need to be eligible for specific clinical trials (typically, non-eligible patients have not been followed and had data collected.

We propose to examine specific questions within a temporally comprehensive cohort of septic shock patients by review of individual charts using a defined data-extraction template.