Background: Sepsis is an acute infectious condition that can affect individuals in all instances of care and characterizes of a range of varying symptoms and may be therefore difficult to detect. In the Swedish healthcare, about 20 percent of people who fall ill with sepsis die every year due to complications. Early and urgent identification and treatment are of great importance as it increases the chance of survival and minimizes the risk of complications and the nurseplays a crucial role in this process.

Aim: The aim of this study was to enlighten factors that affect the nurse's identification of sepsis in adult patients.

Method: A literature review based on quantitative and qualitative articles was provided. The data collection was done via the databases Cinahl and Pubmed. Finally, 11 articles were used as relevant for the results.

Results: Two categories emerged: the nurse's knowledge and skills and the nurse's work environment. The nurses had a low general knowledge about sepsis and about relevant assessment scales, but their skills improved along increasing education. Nurses felt stress due to high workload, low staffing, lack of time, high patient flows and a hectic work environment.

Conclusion: The study showed that the nurse's lack of knowledge and education about sepsis was a limitation which resulted in lower detection of the affected patients. For safe care to be possible in case of sepsis, knowledge, training, and use of assessment scales and good work environment are required.