Sepsis Screening: Combining Early Warning Scores and SIRS Criteria

Providing effective screening tools to nurses is necessary to improve patient outcomes and health care quality. This research examines if the modification of two electronic health record sepsis screening tools using a combined systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), modified early warning score (MEWS), and national early warning score (NEWS) criteria improves the recognition of sepsis by nurses. Medical-surgical/telemetry units at a medical center in the Midwest were examined using a quasiexperimental design. Modifications of tool 1 captured 18% more correct classifications of sepsis (odds ratio [OR] = .82, 95% CI = [0.68, 0.98]), triggering for 10% fewer patients, t(1033) = 9.31, p < .001. 95% CI = [0.078, 0.119]. Modifications of tool 2 captured 3 times more correct alerts (OR = .29, 95% CI = [0.24, 0.35]), triggering for 46% fewer patients, t(1033) = 24.38, p < .001. 95% CI = [0.420, 0.493]. The updated criteria showed significant improvement toward correctly identifying sepsis and presents the opportunity to develop an effective tool that balances sensitivity with specificity.

Automated summary

This study examines the modification of sepsis screening tools by combining multiple criteria, leading to significant improvement in nurses' recognition of sepsis and reducing false triggering rates. The updated criteria show potential for developing an effective tool that balances sensitivity and specificity.