Introduction:

Sepsis is a potentially lethal process characterized by an organ dysfunction motivated by the host's response to infection and leading to an immune, pro-inflammatory and immunosuppression imbalance.

Objective:

To characterize systemic inflammatory response syndrome in pediatric intensive care units.

Methods:

Cross-sectional descriptive research carried out at "Pepe Portilla" Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Pinar del Río during the period 2015-2018. The sample consisted of all patients admitted in the pediatric intensive care unit at the aforementioned hospital with a diagnosis of systemic inflammatory response syndrome of infectious or non-infectious cause. The medical records were reviewed and a data collection model was developed in correspondence with model 241-485-02 of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome information system.

Results:

There was a predominance of the condition in patients aged between 1-4 years, 122 cases (44%). 169 (61%) patients were received in sepsis stage. The highest number of cases, 70.4% had out-of-hospital origin. Pneumonia was diagnosed as a cause in 52% of patients. In patients with advanced stages (17 cases (70.9%)), the number of deaths was higher.

Conclusions:

Sepsis continues to be a major health problem. Early admission to pediatric intensive care units is necessary to achieve comprehensive care for these patients.

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