Introduction
The aim of the study was to evaluate the difference in mortality rates between those admitted to the ICU with and without sepsis, and to assess the proportion of patients who had sepsis. Septic patients are one of the key groups of patients admitted to ICUs around the world. Septic patients have an extremely poor prognosis with published mortality rates ranging from 20.7% (severe sepsis) to 45.7% (septic shock) [1]. With septic patients making up roughly 21% of patients admitted to ICUs, it is important to assess whether these rates of mortality hold true to a district general ICU and to assess the extent of the difference in prognosis between patients with and without sepsis [2].