We know that qSOFA can be used to identify patients at risk for clinical decline and sepsis-related organ dysfunction (Singer et al., 2016).  It encompasses three clinical variables:

• Respiratory rate > 22
• Altered mental status (Glasgow coma scale [GCS] < 15)
• Systolic blood pressure ≤ 100

The presence of any two of these criteria in a patient with a known infection should prompt further evaluation for organ dysfunction.

To remember these variables, use the acronym HAT:

• Hypotension (systolic blood pressure ≤ 100)
• Altered mental status (GCS < 15)
• Tachypnea (respiratory rate > 22)

Mnemonics are helpful – and often simple – ways to help remember complex things! Do you have a favorite mnemonic that you use regularly, or one that perhaps you learned a long time ago that still sticks with you?

Reference
Singer, M., Deutschman, C. S., Seymour, C. W., Shankar-Hari, M., Annane, D., Bauer, M., Bellomo, R., Bernard, G. R., Chiche, J. D., Coopersmith, C. M., Hotchkiss, R. S., Levy, M. M., Marshall, J. C., Martin, G. S., Opal, S. M., Rubenfeld, G. D., van der Poll, T., Vincent, J. L., & Angus, D. C. (2016). The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). JAMA, 315(8), 801–810. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.0287