Surviving sepsis campaign: International guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock in adults 2021 - endorsement by the Scandinavian society of anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine.

The Clinical Practice Committee of the Scandinavian Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine endorses the clinical practice guideline Surviving sepsis campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2021. The guideline serves as a useful bedside decision aid for clinicians managing adults with suspected and confirmed septic shock and sepsis-associated organ dysfunction.

BACKGROUND

Sepsis and septic shock remain a leading global cause of mortality and morbidity. , , Anaesthesiologists and intensivists are regularly involved in the identification, resuscitation and management of adults with sepsis and septic shock. In November 2021, the Surviving sepsis campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2021 was published.

The Clinical Practice Committee (CPC) of the Scandinavian Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (SSAI) decided to appraise this guideline for possible endorsement to guide Scandinavian anaesthesiologists and intensivists in the identification, resuscitation, and management of adults with sepsis and septic shock.

METHODS

The SSAI CPC assessed the guideline using the Appraisal of Guidelines for REsearch and Evaluation (AGREE) II tool, as per the outlined process for endorsement of non‐SSAI guidelines.

RESULTS

Five SSAI CPC members completed the appraisal. One member co‐authored the guideline and was excluded from the evaluation, as per the SSAI endorsement process.

The individual domain totals were: 1) scope and purpose 89%; 2) stakeholder involvement 92%; 3) rigor of development 81%; 4) clarity of presentation 89%; 5) applicability 73%; 6) editorial independence 85%; 7) overall assessment 87% (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1

Summary of the Appraisal of Guidelines for REsearch and Evaluation (AGREE) II assessment

The breakdown of the individual appraisers (de‐identified) is available in the Supplementary Material.

DISCUSSION

This clinical practice guideline on the management of sepsis and septic shock in adults received overall high ratings on all domains with an acceptable agreement between the SSAI CPC appraisers. We believe this guideline can serve as a useful bedside decision aid for clinicians managing adults with suspected and confirmed sepsis and septic shock.

CONCLUSION

The SSAI CPC endorses the clinical practice guideline the Surviving sepsis campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2021.

DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST

No Clinical Practice Committee member had direct conflicts of interest. MHM was a co‐author of the guideline assessed and did not participate in the AGREE II assessment, as per the SSAI endorsement process. No other authors had indirect conflicts of interest.

Supplementary Material

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