Systemic inflammatory response syndrome

From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium

In medicine, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is "a systemic inflammatory response to a variety of clinical insults, characterized by two or more of the following conditions":^[1]

1. fever >38° C (100.4° F) or hypothermia <36° C (96.8° F)
2. tachycardia >90 beat/minute
3. tachypnea >24 breaths/minute;
4. leukocytosis >12,000 cells/cubic mm or 10% immature forms

"While usually related to infection, SIRS can also be associated with noninfectious insults such as trauma; burns; or pancreatitis. If infection is involved, a patient with SIRS is said to have sepsis."^[1]

A minority of patients have positive blood cultures.^[2]

References

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Anonymous, (2009) Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (English). Medical Subject Headings. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
2. ↑ Rangel-Frausto MS, Pittet D, Costigan M, Hwang T, Davis CS, Wenzel RP (1995). The natural history of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). A prospective study.. JAMA 273 (2): 117-23. PMID 7799491.