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Update in Critical Care Medicine
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
IN RESPONSE:
In their prospective study of the natural history of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome, Rangel-Frausto and colleagues [1] wrote that
In our study, half of the patients included in our definition of sepsis did not have a documented infection; however, they were prescribed antibiotics (median, 3 days) by their physicians for suspected infection. Outcomes in the group with culture-negative septic shock were similar to those meeting the criteria of the consensus conference of culture-proven septic shock.
In his letter, Dr. Johnson argues that, by definition, a condition cannot be termed sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock in the absence of confirmed infection; Rangel-Frausto and colleagues did not adhere to this distinction. Perhaps these authors should have used the term “apparent” in describing the sepsis-like state of their culture-negative patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome. However, it was not in my province to make such a recommendation in summarizing the results of their study.
John M. Luce, MD
University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, CA 94143
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
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