The results may be summarized as follows: first, the presence of SIRS (defined by two or more SIRS criteria) did not influence the overall prognosis; second, about every eighth patient is missed if SIRS is necessary for defining sepsis; third, even though an increasing trend in mortality was seen according to increasing numbers of observed SIRS criteria, no significant difference in mortality rate could be identified, especially comparing patients with zero versus one or one versus two SIRS criteria 19 .
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