Background: Current sepsis screening tools rely predominantly on vital signs. Since patients with serious infections frequently present with normal vital signs there is a need for other variables to be included to detect sepsis. As a first step, it is essential to understand the clinical presentation of septic patients. The aim was to compare the prevalence of keywords reflecting the clinical presentation of sepsis and mode of arrival, among septic patients presenting to the emergency department. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study of 479 adult septic patients. Keywords reflecting sepsis presentation upon emergency department arrival were quantified and analyzed based on mode of arrival, i.e. by emergency medical services or by other means. We adjusted for multiple comparisons by applying Bonferroni-adjusted significance levels for all comparisons. Adjustments for age, gender and sepsis severity were performed by stratification. All patients were admitted to the emergency department of Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, and discharged with an ICD-10 code compatible with sepsis between January 1stand December 31st, 2013. Results: “Abnormal breathing” (51.8% vs 20.5%, p-value “abnormal circulation” (38.4% vs 21.3%, p-value “acute altered mental status” (31.1% vs 13.1%, p-value “decreased mobility” (26.1% vs 10.7%, p-value “pain” (71.3% vs 40.1%, p-value “risk factors for sepsis” (50.8% vs 30.8%, p-value Conclusions: The distribution of most keywords related to sepsis presentation was similar irrespective of mode of arrival, however, some differences were present. This information may be useful in clinical decision tools or sepsis screening tools.