Impact of qSOFA Calculation on the Timing of Antimicrobial Therapy in the Emergency Department
Impact of qSOFA Calculation on the Timing of Antimicrobial Therapy in the Emergency Department
The delayed administration of an adequate antimicrobial therapy is a strong predictor of
 impaired outcome in patients with bacterial sepsis. Therefore, the current Surviving Sepsis
 Campaign guidelines (2016) recommend that administration of intravenous antimicrobials be
 initiated within one hour following the recognition of sepsis or septic shock.

 The quick Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score is a new bedside tool which
 has been recently proposed by the Third International Sepsis Consensus Definitions Task Force
 (Sepsis-3) to identify patients with suspected infection who are at greater risk for a poor
 outcome outside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It uses three criteria, assigning one point
 for low systolic blood pressure (SBP ≤100 mmHg), high respiratory rate (≥22 breaths per min)
 and altered mentation (Glasgow coma scale <15). The score ranges from 0 to 3 points. A qSOFA
 value ≥2 points is associated with a greater risk of death or prolonged ICU stay, these
 outcomes being more common in infected patients who may be septic than in those with
 uncomplicated infection. The definite goal of qSOFA is to hasten the management and thus
 improve the outcome of patients at risk of sepsis or septic shock.

 Many patients admitted to the hospital for bacterial sepsis or septic shock are initially
 managed in the Emergency Department (ED). This study aims at investigating whether the
 routine calculation of qSOFA at patient triage may hasten the initiation of antimicrobial
 therapy in patients admitted to the ED with suspected or proven bacterial infection,
 especially in those with subsequent criteria for sepsis or septic shock (Sepsis-3
 definition).
Inclusion Criteria:

 • Suspected or proven bacterial infection at emergency department triage

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Imminent death

 -  Pregnancy

 -  Breast-feeding

 -  For patients managed by a medicalized pre-hospital emergency team before ED admission
 : administration of a first dose of antimicrobial agent before ED admission

 -  Lack of coverage by the public health insurance system

 -  Patient's refusal for study enrollment

 -  Lack of confirmed bacterial infection (i.e., documented either clinically,
 microbiologically or by imaging procedures) in patients with a suspected bacterial
 infection at emergency departement triage