pone.0359954.t002 - <p> </p>

In Ireland, the majority of sepsis cases are community-acquired; however, patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) with suspected severe infection remain poorly characterised, particularly those not captured in administrative datasets. This retrospective cross-sectional observational study will be conducted in the ED of Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin.

Adult (non-maternity) ED presentations across eight predefined 24-hour sampling periods will be reviewed. Community-acquired acute infection will be identified through manual review of ED clinical documentation, and possible sepsis will be identified using the ED triage sepsis discriminator supported by clinical documentation. Data collected will include demographic characteristics, referral pathways, clinical presentation, and patient outcomes.