Here are 10 recent stories from Becker's Clinical Leadership & Infection Control on sepsis, the life-threatening condition that affects more than 1 million U.S. patients each year, starting with the most recent.
1. Researchers identify hormone to fight sepsis
The human protein resistin may be a possible tool for fighting sepsis. When examining human blood samples, researchers found resistin inhibited pro-inflammatory proteins that aid cell-to-cell communication in immune responses.
2. Infectious disease teams improve severe sepsis/septic shock survival rates, guideline adherence
Using infectious disease teams for the early management of severe sepsis and septic shock in an emergency department can improve survival rates and improve adherence to treatment guidelines.
3. Receiving antibiotics within 24 hours of ICU admission reduces sepsis mortality rate
A recent study found sepsis patients who received antibiotics within the first 24 hours of being admitted to the ICU had lower mortality rates.
4. Sepsis initiatives may hinder antibiotic stewardship, boost C. diff rates
Sepsis screening and treatment protocols in healthcare settings may inadvertently cause increased antibiotic use and Clostridium difficile infection rates.
5. Study: To track sepsis, clinical datasets are more reliable than claims
Using medical claims patterns, analysts have observed an increase in sepsis incidence in recent years. However, clinical data may more accurately reflect these trends, in part because claims information is affected by changing diagnosis and coding practices over time.
6. Electronic alert in pediatric ER ups severe sepsis detection by 13%
Using an electronic alert system intended to help clinicians identify severe sepsis cases among children in the emergency room improved the detection of severe sepsis in a recent study.
7. Antibiotic guidelines reduce late-onset sepsis in NICU, study finds
Clinicians at Yale University School of Medicine's neonatal intensive care unit in New Haven, Conn., significantly lowered rates of late-onset sepsis by enacting an antibiotic stewardship program.
8. Researchers develop device to rapidly detect sepsis from drop of blood
Researchers developed a small, portable device to aid clinicians in the early detection of sepsis. The experimental device requires just a drop of blood to measure white blood cell count, among other metrics, and rapidly assess a patient's immune response to sepsis.
9. Drug cocktail of vitamin B, C & corticosteroids could lower rates of sepsis shock, death
A drug cocktail, comprised of commonly available drugs, may be effective in mitigating progressive organ dysfunction and lowering the mortality rate of severe sepsis and septic shock.
10. Sepsis patients in overcrowded ERs wait up to 1 hour for treatment, study shows
Patients admitted to overcrowded emergency rooms will likely face a wait for sepsis treatment. Researchers found sepsis patients admitted to an overcrowded ER waited an extra 47 minutes for antibiotics, on average.
More articles on clinical leadership and infection control:
C. diff can most frequently be found in floor corners after disinfection
3 practices to reduce excessive blood transfusion
Southern Illinois University researcher injected patients with experimental herpes vaccine in hotel rooms