THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF THE SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE SYNDROME

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome is an early stage of the infec tious process in humans and animals, which has not until now been well recognized and defined, It is characterized by two or more of four we ll-defined criteria and may develop into sepsis, severe sepsis or sept ic shock, Past epidemiological investigations of sepsis and septic sho ck did not provide enough comparable results and the early stage's of infection were therefore neglected. A precise definition of the system ic inflammatory response syndrome and the possibility of classifying a ll the early stages of infection represents real progress in this area , Further research on the systemic inflammatory response syndrome, on a much larger scale, is now urgently needed.