Bauer ME, Housey M, Bauer ST, et al. - For detecting the cases of impending sepsis in parturients, the performance features of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), quick Sequential [Sepsis-related] Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA), and maternal early warning (MEW) criteria were examined in this study. Researchers also investigated causes as well as risk factors for maternal sepsis and evaluated the timing of antibiotics in patients diagnosed with sepsis. They retrospectively selected validated maternal sepsis cases during the delivery hospitalization from 1995 to 2012 at 7 academic medical centers in the United States and Israel. By date of delivery, they matched control patients in a 1:4 ratio. The most frequent causes of sepsis were chorioamnionitis and endometritis, collectively accounting for approximately half of cases. With regard to the sensitivity and specificity of sepsis screening tools, they found notable differences, with SIRS, MEW, and qSOFA criteria yielding the highest to lowest sensitivity, and qSOFA, MEW, and SIRS showing the highest to lowest specificity. Patients who took antibiotics after > 1 hour experienced doubled mortality. Vigilance is required on clinicians' end to detect cases of peripartum sepsis early in its course and prioritize timely antibiotic treatment.