ABSTRACT
Sepsis is the systemic inflammatory response to infection. Epidemiological studies have revealed that tissue injury secondary to activation of the inflammatory system may also occur with noninfectious disorders, e.g. acute pancreatitis and ischemia-reperfusion. The term systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is used to refer to the consequences of a deregulated host inflammatory response when infection is not present. Therefore, in sepsis, the clinical signs of SIRS are present, together with definitive evidence of infection.
