title: Epidemiology of severe sepsis in the intensive care unit.
abstract: Severe sepsis affects large numbers of intensive care unit patients and is associated with high mortality rates. Understanding the epidemiology of sepsis is important to effectively allocate adequate resources. However, differences in definitions and in studied populations must be taken into consideration when interpreting and comparing the available epidemiological data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intensive Care, Erasme University Hospital, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1070-Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: Hakan Korkut
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Atalan
mesh_terms: D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009102:Multiple Organ Failure / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D018805:Sepsis / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index