Sepsis Recognition and Escalation Questions

Sepsis kills quickly, and it is often the nurse at the bedside who spots it first. The CBT tests two things: recognising sepsis early, and knowing that the response is fast and structured.

Think sepsis

The recognition message is simple: think sepsis in anyone with a likely infection who is deteriorating. The clues are a rising early warning score, new confusion, fever or an abnormally low temperature, fast breathing, a fast pulse, and low blood pressure. A patient with a known chest or urine infection who becomes newly confused and tachycardic is the classic exam scenario. The wrong answer is to shrug it off as “just the infection” and wait.

Escalate on suspicion

Because sepsis can progress rapidly to organ failure, you escalate urgently the moment you suspect it, rather than waiting to be certain or holding off for the ward round. Early treatment saves lives, and every hour of delay increases the risk. Acting on suspicion is not overreacting; it is the point.

The Sepsis Six

The response is a bundle delivered within the first hour of recognising sepsis, known as the Sepsis Six. It is often remembered as three in and three out.

The three given to the patient are oxygen, intravenous antibiotics, and intravenous fluids. The three taken or measured are blood cultures, lactate, and urine output. Questions here test whether you know the bundle and its one-hour window. Options that delay fluids, stop oxygen, or push the response to a later time are all wrong.

Why the hour matters

The whole design of the Sepsis Six is built around speed, because the evidence is clear that outcomes worsen with delay. This is why a nurse’s early recognition and fast escalation matter so much: they start the clock on treatment that a deteriorating septic patient cannot afford to wait for. Next: urinary catheter care. Five sepsis scenarios first.