Are sepsis and toxic shock syndrome the same?

Not exactly: Toxic shock syndrome is one form of severe sepsis associated with staphyloccus superantigen; it goes beyond mere sepsis and septic shock in that the bacterial toxin results in direct injury rather than simply inciting the bodies immune system to go beyond the call of duty. Wikipedia's page: http://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/toxic_shock_syndrome is a reasonable lay description of tss.

See below: Tss is a group a streptococcal infection or staphylococcus aureus infection or colonization associated with the sudden onset of shock and organ failure. On streptococcal tss soft tissue infection is the most common portal of entry. Sepsis is the presence of 2 or more of fever, rapid pulse, rapid respirations and elevated white blood cell count(sirs) due to an infection.