Sepsis phenotyping is a research field and methodological approach focused on identifying and characterizing distinct subgroups of patients presenting with sepsis. This involves integrating diverse clinical, biological, and molecular data to understand the underlying heterogeneity of the syndrome, improve prognostic assessment, and enable the development of phenotype-specific therapeutic strategies.
Ontological type
Core Methods
Data Sources
Clinical Applications
Cytokine-Biomarker Era
1985 - 2003
Host-Response Phenotyping
2004 - 2017
AI-Guided Immune Endotyping
2018 - 2024
Cytokine-Biomarker Era era
Jean‐Louis Vincent [1] linked with University of Washington [3] and Radboud University Nijmegen [4], shaping the Cytokine-Biomarker Era (1985-2003). His key contributions in this era come from the papers The SOFA (Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment) score to describe organ dysfunction/failure [7] and Serum Cytokine Levels in Human Septic Shock [8], which anchored organ dysfunction metrics and cytokine profiling to prognostic models, enabling standardized biomarker-centered phenotyping. Rui P. Moreno [2] linked with University of Groningen [5] and Université Paris Cité [6], contributed to the era's biomarker-driven framework. Through the SOFA framework described in The SOFA (Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment) score to describe organ dysfunction/failure [7], Moreno helped integrate organ dysfunction metrics into prognostic models and stratification schemes, advancing biomarker-driven phenotyping in sepsis.
Host-Response Phenotyping era
Jean‐Louis Vincent [1] is a leading figure in host-response phenotyping during 2004–2017, with affiliations at Harvard University [3] and Stanford University [4]. His contributions include the Surviving Sepsis Campaign [7], the Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock, 2012 [8], and Sepsis definitions: time for change [9], which collectively advanced standardized endpoints and guided trial design for this era. Steven M. Opal [2], with affiliations at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio [5] and Northwestern University [6], emerged as a key voice in standardizing sepsis definitions and management during this era. His work on the Surviving Sepsis Campaign [7], its international guidelines [8], and the call for Sepsis definitions: time for change [9] helped align prognostic phenotypes with interventional strategies by driving consensus, protocolized care, and translational endpoints.
AI-Guided Immune Endotyping era
Anthony Gordon [1] is a leading sepsis researcher whose work during the AI-Guided Immune Endotyping era involved affiliations with St. Boniface Hospital [3] and Imperial College London [4]. His key contribution, exemplified by The Artificial Intelligence Clinician learns optimal treatment strategies for sepsis in intensive care [7], is the development of an AI-guided decision-support system that learns optimal septic-treatment strategies and informs dynamic clinical decisions. Luregn J. Schlapbach [2] is a pediatric sepsis researcher whose work during this era involved Washington University in St. Louis [5] and Northwestern University [6]. His contributions, reflected in Surviving Sepsis Campaign international guidelines for the management of septic shock and sepsis-associated organ dysfunction in children [8] and Defining Pediatric Sepsis [9], advanced pediatric sepsis definitions and standardized care frameworks that enabled consistent phenotyping and integration with AI-guided endotyping approaches in this era.