Abstract

Infection by a virus, bacteria, parasite, fungus, or toxin is the most common cause of sepsis in children and young adults. Successful treatment of sepsis and septic shock in the critical first hours after a patient is admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is possible. Methods: From November 2021 to October 2022, a prospective clinical trial was carried out in the paediatric intensive care unit within the Department of Paediatrics, Hope Children Hospital, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The hospital's ethical review board gave their blessing for the trial to proceed. Results: 40 children with a diagnosis of sepsis/septic shock who were hospitalised to the paediatric intensive care unit were analysed. Babies that presented with a different kind of shock or who fell into a higher severity category were not included. Children were categorised by their shock index at 0, 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours after admission. Conclusion: Pre-admission SI in the ambulance to ER, SI as a marker of response to treatment, and the relationship of SI with organ dysfunction are all areas in need of further study to determine more sensitive and specific cut off values.

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