Noninfectious SIRS

dallend@einstein.edu

Hi
Is anyone querying for noninfectious SIRS.  I will confess that this has not been a focus of our program. We have had numerous consultants in our facility auditing CDI and no one has ever mentioned that we should add this to our query list.
We currently have an auditor who is very focused on this diagnosis.  I did some online research and could not find anything other than SIRS criteria.  I know if there is organ dysfunction this could be an MCC.
Can anyone provide some assistance??? If we are missing a major query opportunity I would like to correct the issue.

evanspx@sutterhealth.org

We have some instances in which SIRS due to something such as burn, trauma, is documented.  In these cases, the patient manifests SIRS criteria, but there is no infection.  If or when we have a diagnosis of SIRS and the type/etiology is not clear, or if it seems to lack clinical support, we will query. Sometimes various acute organ dysfunctions are associated with the SIRS.  I’d not say we ‘pursue’ it as much as we are aware it can occur and proceed according.

SIRS with infection requires a query as it no longer equates to Sepsis, but that is a distinctly different topic.


Paul Evans, RHIA, CCDS

dallend@einstein.edu

In our charts physician is not documenting SIRS.  Auditor is pursuing.  I have never seen that before. We have external chart reviews on a regular basis and this is the first time I am seeing queries generated for this diagnosis.