Sepsis Care Guidelines Updated by International Panel of Experts

This represents the first update to sepsis care guidelines in five years, and hopes to increase treatment of potential sepsis patients while they are en route to the hospital.

Matt MacKenzie

March 26, 2026

Key Highlights

- Guidelines now recommend sepsis screening in ambulances or during air transport for at-risk patients.
- Early antimicrobial therapy is advised for patients with probable sepsis, low blood pressure, and long travel times to hospitals.
- The use of anti-anaerobic antibiotics is discouraged in low-risk patients, emphasizing targeted treatment based on infection type.
- Empiric anti-fungal therapy should be reserved for high-risk cases, reducing unnecessary medication use.
- The guidelines identify key areas for future research to improve early detection and management of sepsis.

Sepsis care guidelines have been updated by an international team of experts for the first time since 2021.

The new guidelines attempted to factor in what happens with a “patient at risk of sepsis before they even reach the hospital.” That includes a conditional recommendation for screening for sepsis in an ambulance or life-flight en route. Initial treatment could then be initiated in the transport. Patients with “probable sepsis, low blood pressure, and who are facing prolonged travel time to the hospital are recommended for antimicrobial therapy” while en route as well.

At the same time, “more judicious medication prescribing practice is the focus of several of the new recommendations” as well. The type of antibiotic administered to patients should be more carefully considered; specifically, there are new recommendations to “not use anti-anaerobic antibiotics in patients at low risk for an anaerobic infection.” The vast majority of lung and urinary tract infections, which are “some of the most common conditions leading to sepsis,” are caused by aerobic bacteria.

The new guidelines also recommend “not using empiric anti-fungal therapy outside rare case-by-case situations in patients are at very high risk of fungal infection.” They also identify areas for future research.