SIRS
Meaning of SIRS: SIRS describes a whole body inflammatory response identified through vital sign and blood count changes, seen with infection or with noninfectious injury.
Definition of SIRS
SIRS, short for systemic inflammatory response syndrome, describes a pattern of widespread inflammation affecting the whole body, identified through a combination of clinical findings that can include an abnormally fast heart rate, abnormally fast breathing, a body temperature that is too high or too low, and a white blood cell count outside its usual range.
SIRS can be triggered by infection, in which case it overlaps closely with sepsis, but it can also result from noninfectious causes, including significant trauma, burns, pancreatitis, or major surgery, since the body's inflammatory response can be activated by tissue injury even without infection.
Because SIRS reflects a general pattern of inflammation rather than a specific diagnosis, identifying SIRS in a patient generally prompts further evaluation to determine the underlying cause, since the same combination of findings can point toward very different conditions requiring different management.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The patient met criteria for SIRS on admission, prompting evaluation for an underlying infectious source.
Good to know
SIRS can result from noninfectious causes such as trauma or pancreatitis as well as from infection, so meeting SIRS criteria does not by itself confirm sepsis without further evaluation for an infectious source.