What Determines Prognosis in Sepsis? Evidence for a Comprehensive Individual Patient Risk Assessment Approach to the Design and Analysis of Clinical Trials

In order to properly evaluate new therapeutic approaches to sepsis, we will have to provide a baseline estimate of a patient’s short-term mortality risk based on patient characteristics available and reliably measured prior to treatment. This estimate should be uniform in regard in risk assessment and clinical definitions, but specific to the particular inclusion and exclusion criteria used in the clinical evaluations, and should be updated as new information becomes available regarding prognostic factors or the efficacy of specific new compounds.