Abstract
Answer D. Respiratory rate more than 25 breaths per minute
Sepsis is a leading cause of death and early recognition and prompt treatment can avoid morbidity and mortality. If a clinician has identified a red flag symptom or sign and is considering sepsis, the patient should be urgently transferred to hospital. The red flags are:
New deterioration in conscious level/Glasgow Coma Scale Respiratory rate greater than 25 breaths per minute Needs oxygen to maintain saturation’s above 92% (or above 88% in COPD) Systolic blood pressure less than 90 mmHg (or more than 40 mmHg below the patient’s normal) Heart rate greater than 130 beats per minute Not passed urine in the last 18 hours Non-blanching rash or mottled/ashen/cyanotic Recent chemotherapy (within last 6 weeks)
InnovAiT article: Think, could this be sepsis? DOI: 10.1177/1755738018788721.