SIRS
Medical abbreviation · Emergency Medicine
| Stands for | Systemic inflammatory response syndrome |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
SIRS stands for Systemic inflammatory response syndrome, an emergency medicine abbreviation.
Set of criteria describing the body's widespread inflammatory response: abnormal temperature, heart rate above 90, respiratory rate above 20 or low PaCO2, and abnormal white cell count. Two or more criteria meet the definition.
Example: SIRS criteria 3/4 with suspected UTI; sepsis bundle initiated.
Usage notes
Defined at a 1991 consensus conference and long used to screen for sepsis. The 2016 Sepsis-3 definitions dropped SIRS because it is not specific, though many hospital screening tools still use it. Trauma, pancreatitis and burns can cause SIRS without infection.
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This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.