Sepsis: The Hour-1 Bundle

By VeriScorePrep Team · 5 min

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Early recognition and the Surviving Sepsis Hour-1 bundle dramatically reduce mortality.

Recognition

Suspect sepsis when infection meets systemic illness: fever or hypothermia, tachycardia, tachypnea, altered mental status, hypotension, mottled skin, or hyper- or hypoglycemia.

Hour-1 bundle

• Measure lactate — repeat if >2 mmol/L.
• Obtain blood cultures before antibiotics.
• Administer broad-spectrum antibiotics.
• Begin rapid crystalloid resuscitation (typically 30 mL/kg) for hypotension or lactate ≥4.
• Apply vasopressors if hypotensive during or after fluids to maintain MAP ≥65.

Nursing role

Escalate when the picture fits. A patient with fever plus new confusion and hypotension is sepsis until proven otherwise. The single most common error is delay — antibiotics within the first hour improve survival.