Lauter C B
Division of Infectious Diseases, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan 48072.
Ann Emerg Med. 1989 Dec;18(12):1339-43. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(89)80272-0.
Initial therapy in acutely ill septic patients is necessarily empiric. Although a specific etiologic infectious diagnosis is rarely made in an acute situation, a treatment decision must be made and must be developed from history, physical examination, and minimal laboratory and roentgen studies. Three life-threatening syndromes are discussed: febrile-neutropenic patients with cancer, immunosuppressed patients with fever and lung infiltrates, and patients with acute community-acquired meningitis.
