Systemic inflammatory response syndrome differs from sepsis in that patients with SIRS have which of the following?

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome differs from sepsis in that patients with SIRS have which of the following?

• A. Normal temperature
• B. Heart rate less than 90 beats/min
• C. Normal white blood cell count
• D. No documented infection

Answer: (D)

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome is an inflammatory state that can be triggered by noninfectious insults, while sepsis is this same inflammatory response in the setting of an infection. Because infection is not required to meet SIRS criteria, a patient with SIRS may have no documented infection. That absence of documented infection is what distinguishes SIRS from sepsis. The other features listed can occur with SIRS (such as abnormal temperature, heart rate changes, or white blood cell abnormalities) but they do not define the presence or absence of infection, so they don’t separate SIRS from sepsis. If infection is documented or strongly suspected, the picture shifts toward sepsis; if there’s no infection identified, it remains SIRS without sepsis.

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome is an inflammatory state that can be triggered by noninfectious insults, while sepsis is this same inflammatory response in the setting of an infection. Because infection is not required to meet SIRS criteria, a patient with SIRS may have no documented infection. That absence of documented infection is what distinguishes SIRS from sepsis. The other features listed can occur with SIRS (such as abnormal temperature, heart rate changes, or white blood cell abnormalities) but they do not define the presence or absence of infection, so they don’t separate SIRS from sepsis. If infection is documented or strongly suspected, the picture shifts toward sepsis; if there’s no infection identified, it remains SIRS without sepsis.