Impact of timing to source control in patients with septic shock: A prospective multi-center observational study

Purpose: Current guidelines recommend that rapid source control should be adopted in patients not >6–12 h after sepsis is diagnosed. However, evidence level of this guideline is not specified, and there is no previous study on patients with septic shock visiting the emergency department (ED). Therefore, we aimed to assess the impact of rapid source control in patients with septic shock visiting the ED. Materials and methods: In a prospective, observational, multicenter, registry-based study in 11 EDs, Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the independent effect of source control and time to source control on 28-day mortality. Results: Cox proportional hazard models revealed that 28-day mortality was significantly lower in patients who underwent source control (HR 0.538 (0.389–0.744), p < .001). However, no significant association between the performance of source control after 6 h or 12 h from enrollment and 28-day mortality was noted. Conclusions: Patients with septic shock visiting the ED who underwent source control showed better outcomes than those who did not. We failed to demonstrate the performance of rapid source control reduced the 28-day mortality in septic shock patients. Further studies are required to determine the impact of rapid source control in sepsis and septic shock.