Since 2015, the UK Sepsis Trust has collaborated with a number of organisations to produce operational clinical tools for all ages (except specifically for neonates) across a wide range of healthcare settings. These tools were formally endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), following the most fundamental revisions to the Sepsis 6 since its inception. Most recently, as a result of the updated Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines from 2021 and new guidelines from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges we have updated our clinical material, which includes the Screening and Action Tools.
Where applicable, the screening tools have been updated to reflect latest guidance on the initial fluid resuscitation in children and young people under 16 years of age as per NICE NG51 (updated 2022).
These tools are compatible with the NICE Guideline on Sepsis (NG51), and reflect an operational solution to delivery of the NHS Implementation Guidance. They can be used alongside our additional resources and e-learning programme.
Where senior clinical input is available, such clinical judgement should, in patients with sepsis and with other conditions, trump any clinical tool. However, we recognise that senior input is not always immediately available, that patients can deteriorate following a touch point with a senior, and that more junior and less experienced health professionals should be responsibly empowered to act when presented with a patient with evidence of physiological derangement in the context of infection.
That’s where the tools below come in. Identify the one most suited to your clinical area and prepare to use it to help you to reach decisions, which will be supported by the UK Sepsis Trust and by NICE. Remember, if your clinical judgement is telling you that the tool is reaching the wrong conclusion, trust your instinct and ask a senior colleague. Conversely, if you know your patient’s sick and think it’s as a consequence of infection, these tools are here to empower you to act.
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