Here are seven stories and studies on sepsis that have been covered by Becker's Hospital Review in roughly the last two months, beginning with the most recent.
1. Burn patients and those undergoing treatment for other types of trauma who are at risk for sepsis may benefit from including probiotics, or live beneficial bacteria, as a component of treatment. Read more.
2. Readmissions associated with the sepsis occur often — at nearly the same rate as readmissions for heart-related complications — and can be extremely costly. Read more.
3. "Inadequate patient assessment" has been cited as a factor in 75 percent of sepsis malpractice cases, according to a Canadian Medical Protective Association report. Read more.
4. Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has a systemwide initiative to improve early detection of sepsis and sepsis treatment. Read more.
5. Patient mortality is greatly reduced when clinicians are able to treat a patient with sepsis within six hours, yet researchers found that only half of sepsis patients receive all the necessary care elements in that window. Read more.
6. A toxin secreted by Vibrio vulnificus, a Gram-negative bacterium associated with sepsis, may prevent the growth of cancerous tumors, according to a study by scientists at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. Read more.
7. A study from Veterans Affairs and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor suggests routine hospital stays can upset the balance of microbes in the human body so much that it increases the risk of sepsis in older adult patients. Read more.