Definitions and Epidemiology
Sepsis is defined as the systemic inflammatory reaction of the body to an infection.
Worldwide, sepsis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The incidence of sepsis and sepsis-associated multi-organ failure is constantly increasing, which may, among others, be due to multiple antibiotic resistances and an increasing number of patients at both extremes of age. Sepsis is a tremendous burden for health-care systems, with projected average costs of 25,000 € per patient in the EU, not taking into account costs caused by loss of productivity and premature death.