[Sepsis : putting knowledge into practice]. / Sepsis : Wissen für die Praxis.

Sepsis is a complex systemic inflammatory reaction in response to an infection and must be treated as an emergency. The diagnosis of sepsis is often delayed even though early goal-directed resuscitation and therapy with antibiotics within the first hours can reduce sepsis-related mortality. This article presents the most important points concerning the pathophysiology, diagnosis and therapy of sepsis.