Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2021

Front

1 of 3 · Front

📘 GuidelineCh 6 · Emergency, Trauma, Acute Care & Surgical Critical Care

Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2021

In one breath

The 2021 Surviving Sepsis Campaign guideline for adults with sepsis or septic shock: immediate resuscitation, early antimicrobials and source control, an initial MAP target of 65 mmHg on vasopressors, and norepinephrine as the first-line vasopressor.

Edition2021

Issued bySurviving Sepsis Campaign — Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM)

Place of issueInternational

PublishedCritical Care Medicine · 2021;49(11):e1063–e1143

⏳ Pending verification

FACE COLOURS Front — the summary · Back 1 — what it covers + key recommendations · Back 2 — evidence, changes + source

Back 1

2 of 3 · Back 1

Back colours mark the reading sections — the chapter colour is the band and chip.

§1 · What it covers

This guideline covers adult sepsis/septic shock, including abdominal sepsis resuscitation, antimicrobial timing, source control, hemodynamics, ICU care, and post-discharge follow-up.

Applies to: Adults with suspected or confirmed sepsis or septic shock, including intra-abdominal infection.

§2 · Key recommendations

Begin treatment and resuscitation immediately.
For sepsis-induced hypoperfusion/septic shock, suggest at least 30 mL/kg IV crystalloid within 3 hours, guided by dynamic measures where possible.
target initial MAP 65 mmHg on vasopressors.
administer antimicrobials immediately, ideally within 1 hour for possible septic shock/high-likelihood sepsis, and within 3 hours after rapid assessment when sepsis without shock remains likely.
pursue prompt source control, preferably within 6–12 hours when required.
use balanced crystalloids preferentially.
norepinephrine is first-line vasopressor.

FACE COLOURS Front — the summary · Back 1 — what it covers + key recommendations · Back 2 — evidence, changes + source

Back 2

3 of 3 · Back 2

Back colours mark the reading sections — the chapter colour is the band and chip.

§3 · Evidence & grading

GRADE-derived strong, weak, best-practice, and no-recommendation categories. Examples on the society page: 30 mL/kg is weak/low certainty; MAP 65 is strong/moderate; immediate antibiotics in shock are strong/low or very low; several antimicrobial and source-control details are weak or best-practice.

§4 · What changed in this edition

Not yet established — pending verification.

§5 · Source & working link

Evans L, et al. Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2021. Crit Care Med. 2021;49(11):e1063–e1143. doi:10.1097/CCM.0000000000005337 · PMID 34605781 (verified via the duplicate Domain 14 record's PubMed entry).

Publisher — the record's original_url, carried verbatim ↗DOI — 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005337 ↗

Link check 2026-11-11: the publisher (SCCM) URL fetched live — HTTP 200; the DOI resolved at Crossref with matching title, journal, volume and pages. Publication details were cross-verified against the duplicate Domain 14 record's PubMed entry (PMID 34605781), fetched live the same day.

Source: Tamer-supplied guideline index, intake 2026-11-10 (record #5, Domain 01) · Card built 2026-11-11 (Wave D) from the record itself; the §5.2 verification pass (UpToDate + Medscape → Perplexity → Tamer decision) has not yet run on this card. ⚑ Conflict flag on the source record — documented cross-society disagreement (intake DOCX Table 2): Sepsis — SSC 2021 vs SSC 2026. This record (Domain 01 filing) marks the 2021 guideline current; the duplicate Domain 14 filing of the same guideline marks it superseded by the 2026 edition. The two filings disagree — unresolved. Unresolved — pending the verification pass (UpToDate + Medscape → Perplexity → Tamer decision).

FACE COLOURS Front — the summary · Back 1 — what it covers + key recommendations · Back 2 — evidence, changes + source

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