Abstract
Sepsis remains one of the leading causes of childhood mortality today, although survival
has substantially improved, thanks to an ever deeper and more thorough understanding
of sepsis pathophysiology, developments in vaccination and intensive therapy, and
goal-directed therapeutic approaches. The key to successful therapy is early recognition
and antibiotic treatment, as well as supportive therapy aimed at correcting circulatory,
respiratory, and metabolic derangements as soon as possible. Diagnosis and management
of childhood sepsis mainly evolves along the path of studies conducted in adult patients;
however, their applicability is limited due to a variability of cardiovascular and
immune responses in each age group. In addition to childhood characteristics of hemodynamic
responses in sepsis, this review looks at major areas of pediatric sepsis therapy,
with the intention of providing bedside clinicians with pointers useful in their day-to-day
work.
Keywords
sepsis - septic shock - children - pediatric - infection - review
