Automated early warning system for septic shock: the new way to achieve intensive care unit quality improvement?

Sepsis, especially septic shock, is a major cause of death affecting millions of individuals around the world (1). As example, one study from two independent cohorts found that nearly 50 percent of all hospital deaths in the United States (US) are related to sepsis (2). Another important study in the US confirmed that sepsis has become the top-ranked diagnosis related to intensive care units (ICUs) admissions among older patients, and this is an impressive fact, considering the US and worldwide population aging (3). Furthermore, an international database analysis showed a global mortality for severe sepsis of 270 per 100,000 person-years between the years 1995 and 2015, with 5.3 million potentially preventable deaths annually (4). Nevertheless, it is important to point out that the term severe sepsis should not be used, since the 2016 definitions of sepsis and septic shock originated from the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3) were established (5).