Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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Severe sepsis is a common, costly, and complex problem, the epidemiology of which has only been well studied in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, nearly half of all patients with severe sepsis are cared for outside the ICU. ⋯ Severe sepsis was commonly found and poorly documented on the wards at our medical center. The epidemiology and organ dysfunctions among patients with severe sepsis appear to be different from previously described ICU severe sepsis populations.