Clinical pathways
The adult sepsis pathway is available with or without antimicrobial prescribing and administration guidelines (PDF 759 kB) and includes 4 options. Use the adult sepsis pathway flowchart (PDF 128 kB) to decide which pathway to follow.
- Adult sepsis pathway - no antimicrobial guideline (PDF 849 kB)
- Adult sepsis pathway - antimicrobial guidelines - low MRSA, non tropical (PDF 2232 kB)
- Adult sepsis pathway - antimicrobial guidelines - high MRSA, non tropical (PDF 2256 kB)
- Adult sepsis pathway - antimicrobial guidelines - high MRSA, tropical (north of Mackay) (PDF 2151 kB)
You can order these forms from Winc.
For paediatric sepsis use the Children’s Health Queensland paediatric sepsis pathway.
For patients between 16 and 18 use clinical discretion to choose either the adult or paediatric pathway.
How to use the adult sepsis clinical pathway
- How to use the adult sepsis pathway clinician factsheet (PDF 420 kB)
- How to use the adult sepsis pathway video
- Why use the sepsis pathway factsheet (PDF 506 kB)
Sepsis clinical pathways follow the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard.
Sepsis screening in primary healthcare
To screen patients for sepsis in a primary healthcare setting use the adult sepsis primary healthcare screening tool (PDF 286 kB).
If you need advice, you can call the Virtual Emergency Care Service (VECS) on 1300 847 833.
Clinical education
The following sepsis courses are available on iLearn.
- Sepsis 101 - sepsis – adult ED online eLearning module - for all staff prior to using the pathway.
- Medical inpatient case study - sepsis - adult online eLearning module - for all staff working in inpatient settings.
- Surgical inpatient case study - sepsis – adult online eLearning module - for all staff working in surgical inpatient settings.
- Emergency department case study - sepsis – adult online eLearning module - for all staff working in an emergency department.
Promotional material
Use these resources to prompt staff to check for sepsis.
- Adult sepsis clinical lanyard (PDF 212 kB)
- Could it be sepsis? A4 clinician poster (PDF 330 kB)
- 'Could it be Sepsis?' clinician poster - Sepsis Australia
Sepsis Australia have also produced a sepsis factsheet for clinicians.
Information for your patients
Display these posters in waiting rooms and other public areas.
- Could it be sepsis? - A4 consumer poster (PDF 368 kB)
- Could it be sepsis? - A4 consumer poster (First Nations version) (PDF 377 kB)
- Sepsis campaign poster - Sepsis Australia
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare has a factsheet for people with sepsis and their families.
There is also patient information about the signs and symptoms of sepsis on the Queensland Government website.
For patients who have presented with an infection but don't have sepsis, use the Have an infection? patient information sheet (PDF 472 kB).
Contact
For more information on the pathways, please email sepsis@health.qld.gov.au.
Licence exception: The content on this page is subject to our Patient Safety and Quality copyright statement and disclaimer (PDF 70 kB). The statement doesn’t include our elearning or paediatric resources. This content isn’t covered under the general Queensland Health copyright statement applied to other pages on this site. To register for update alerts email Sepsis@health.qld.gov.au.
Last updated: 16 April 2025