SIRS Criteria (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome)
Identifies systemic inflammatory response to guide early sepsis recognition and management
- Highest activation tier
- Mandatory
- How it is scored
- Scored in code; a detected disagreeing draft value is flagged for correction
- Scoring type
- classification
- Care settings
- Emergency department, ICU, Inpatient
When it activates
Scribeable activates a calculator from the encounter. The SIRS Criteria (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) can activate when the transcript or pasted chart context documents any of these:
- Suspected infection with systemic signs
- Sepsis screening
- Fever with hemodynamic abnormalities
- Bacteremia evaluation
- Post-surgical fever workup
A coded diagnosis can also activate it. ICD-10 prefixes carried by the registry: A41, A49, R50, R65.
Inputs the note needs
4 inputs. Each is resolved from the transcript, the pasted chart context and charted labs; an input marked "asks you" is requested as a clarification when it is undocumented.
| Input | Type | Unit / options | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature (>38°C or <36°C) | vital | °C | |
| Heart rate (>90 bpm) | vital | bpm | |
| Respiratory rate (>20) or PaCO2 (<32 mmHg) | vital | /min | |
| WBC (>12,000 or <4,000 or >10% bands) | lab | ×10⁹/L |
Scoring
≥2 of: Temperature >38°C or <36°C; Heart rate >90 bpm; RR >20 or PaCO2 <32 mmHg; WBC >12,000 or <4,000 or >10% immature bands
SIRS criteria (≥2 = positive): temp Temperature (>38°C or <36°C)°C, HR Heart rate (>90 bpm), RR Respiratory rate (>20) or PaCO2 (<32 mmHg), WBC WBC (>12,000 or <4,000 or >10% bands)
Interpretation
≥2 criteria = SIRS positive. SIRS + suspected infection = sepsis (traditional definition). Note: Sepsis-3 (2016) favors qSOFA/SOFA over SIRS for sepsis identification, but SIRS remains widely used for screening and billing. SIRS can be triggered by non-infectious causes (pancreatitis, trauma, burns).
Evidence
Sources carried in Scribeable's citation registry for this calculator; guideline version: ACCP/SCCM 1992.
- Bone RC et al. Definitions for sepsis and organ failure and guidelines for the use of innovative therapies in sepsis (SIRS Criteria)Bone et al. (SIRS) ACCP/SCCM 1992 · 1992 · ACCP/SCCM · Consensus · link last verified 2026-03-28
How Scribeable handles it in the note
When an encounter activates the SIRS Criteria (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) at the mandatory tier, Scribeable resolves its inputs from the transcript, the pasted chart context and any charted labs, and asks you for a missing input you can supply before the note is finalised. Bedside-exam and separately ordered study values are not requested one input at a time; a calculator that carries a combined clarification question may still put that single question to you.
The score is computed in code from the resolved inputs, not recalled by the language model. If the draft states a SIRS Criteria (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) value that disagrees with the computed one, the disagreement is flagged to the second drafting pass, which is instructed to correct the score and its interpretation before you see the note.
Classified as a risk score: activated strictly, by a documented trigger, never by a permissive reading of the encounter.
See it activate on your own encounter
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