Sepsis has been recognized by the United Nations World Health Assembly as a global threat to the health of children and adults. The World Health Organization has established as a priority the identification of strategies for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of sepsis.1
The increasing incidence of sepsis represents a major contributor to childhood morbidity. A cohort study involving US children’s hospitals demonstrated that the prevalence of sepsis among children (ages 18 years and younger) had increased from 3.7% in 2004 to 4.4% in 2012, and suggested that mortality and resource utilization have decreased over the same study period.2