please reply to post: Sepsis
My clinical issue of interest is Sepsis in Intensive Care Units (ICU). My PICOT question will encompass the methodology and efficacy of current Sepsis protocols in the ICU. Sepsis can arise from many causes, such as central line infection, urinary tract infection, or pneumonia. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, “Infections that lead to sepsis most often start in the lung, urinary tract, skin, or gastrointestinal tract” (The Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023). When bacteria from these infections become systemic and enter the bloodstream, it can create a systemic inflammatory response (SIRS) that can cause organ damage if left untreated.
Search Results
Many studies resulted when I searched for “sepsis” in the various search engines. However, a large portion of these studies were either observational studies or systematic reviews. The results began to be more targeted when I started to hone in on more specific sepsis-related topics, i.e., trending lactate levels or fluid resuscitation for sepsis—looking for more specific results generated more original studies that explore sepsis.
Strategies for a More Effective Search
Strategies I will use to find more original research will be to explore concise topics. CINAHL and MEDLINE both offer multiple search engine bars. I will use this when exploring my PICOT question because I can search for sepsis, but the article must also include lactate levels and fluid resuscitation. CINAHL by EBSCOhost also provides specifiers to limit results on the home page- one can choose peer-reviewed articles, full text, and adult (EBSCOhost, n.d.). MEDLINE is affiliated with the National Library of Medicine and contains many articles focusing on biomedicine (EBSCOhost, n.d.). Within the MEDLINE search engine, there is an option to choose databases. As I research, I plan to switch between databases to find the most pertinent information for my PICOT question.
