An Interactive Educational Symposium held at CHEST 2009, November 2, 2009, 5:30PM - 10:00PM

Overview:
Despite significant changes in the treatment of sepsis as a result of new therapies and guidelines launched over the past decade, sepsis incidence and mortality remain high. Early identification and treatment of the septic patient continue to pose significant challenges. This symposium will explore the evolution of sepsis management from a patient perspective, providing an overview of developments in patient care over the past 10 years—from landmark sepsis trials to recent advances, including the application of biomarkers to sepsis patient management. The latest proposals on sepsis definitions and an overview of the latest sepsis trials will be presented. The interactive session will conclude with an open panel discussion. more

Learning Objectives

• Realize the rise in sepsis, the factors contributing to this increase, and the human impact of sepsis.
• Identify current definitions of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and SIRS criteria and examine limitations involved with interpretations.
• Assess how diagnostic and treatment strategies for sepsis have evolved over the past decade.
• Analyze the role of biomarkers, including Procalcitonin^® (PCT), in identifying and monitoring patients with sepsis.
• Discuss future directions for managing patients with sepsis, including clinical trials which may improve outcomes.

Intended Audience
This symposium is intended for physicians, doctors of pharmacy, and physician extenders such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, who deal with patients with sepsis. This includes those with practices in pulmonology, critical care medicine, cardiothoracic surgery, pediatric pulmonology, neonatology, and pediatric critical care medicine. more