Pediatric sepsis definitions: Past, present, and future

OBJECTIVE: To review the past, present, and future definitions of sepsis and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome in children. METHODS: Review of the literature. RESULTS: The history and development of the adult-derived sepsis syndrome and its application to pediatric-specific sepsis definitions is provided. Initially, only adult definitions were applied to pediatric studies. Recently, pediatric-specific definitions have been published. The pediatric consensus conference-derived definitions for systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock are summarized, and their limitations are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: The potential value and inconsistencies of the current pediatric-specific sepsis definitions are discussed. Future direction of the definitions and their applications are presented.