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It states 3 hours here
http://www.survivingsepsis.org/Bundles/Documents/SSC_Bundle.pdf
I knew I'd seen 3 hours somewhere. I also remember hearing some discussion somewhere about how they'd changed the recommendation to 3 hours, because the available evidence didn't show any better outcomes among those who received it in 1 hour, vs. those who received it up to 3 hours.
But if you go to this page, and click on "Initial Resuscitation & Infection Issues" and scroll down to "D - Antimicrobial Therapy", the document states "Administration of effective intravenous antimicrobials within the first hour of recognition of septic shock (grade 1B) and severe sepsis without septic shock (grade 1C) as the goal of therapy."
I agree that any way you look at it, it stands to reason that giving them earlier rather than later is a good practice, even if that isn't necessarily supported by the best evidence. And it certainly shouldn't take longer than an hour after recognition to draw cultures and give ABX, anyway.