Sepsis

Sepsis is often diagnosed too late, because the clinical symptoms used for sepsis diagnosis like raised temperature, increased pulse or breathing rate, or white blood cell count are unspecific. In children, the signs and symptoms may be subtle and deterioration can be rapid.

Even a minor infection can lead to sepsis. Sepsis is a common, but under recognized condition. This is due to confusion about the signs of sepsis among patients and healthcare providers, lack of documentation of sepsis as a cause of death, inadequate diagnostic tools, and inconsistent application of standard clinical guidelines to treat sepsis.

Regardless of the setting, pre-hospital or hospital, the critical factor in patient survival is time—time to recognition and time to treatment. The risk of death from sepsis increases by as much as 8% for every hour that treatment is delayed.

As many as 80% of sepsis deaths could be prevented with rapid diagnosis and treatment. Rapid initiation of simple, timely interventions including intravenous fluids and targeted treatment to restore the circulation can reduce the risk of dying. Early sepsis treatment not only improves patient safety, but it is cost effective, reducing hospital and critical care bed days for patients.