title: [Sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock: clinical, epidemiological and prognostic characteristics of patients in an intensive care unit in a university hospital].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sepsis is considered to be a severe disease with high mortality. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and evolution of sepsis among critically ill patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective surveillance of sepsis was performed in the adult intensive care unit, between April and December 2007.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patient frequency/day was 442. Seventy-five patients (18.6%) had sepsis and 72% of these cases were hospital-acquired. The rates of severe sepsis and septic shock per patient/day were 5.0 and 3.1, respectively. The total mortality was 34.6% and 61% of the cases had microbiological diagnoses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sepsis presented with higher frequency than is usually described in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG.
authors.forename: Renan Henrique de
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Janaína Fernandes
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.forename: Paulo Pinto
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Gontijo Filho
authors.forename: Rosineide Marques
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ribas
mesh_terms: D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology