Here are 15 stories from Becker's Clinical Leadership & Infection Control on sepsis, the life-threatening condition that affects more than 1 million U.S. patients yearly, starting with the most recent.
1. Microfluidic chip detects sepsis with 98% accuracy
Researchers at the Texas Tech University in Lubbock invented a microfluidic chip to help detect sepsis using less than a drop of blood — and the device is showing 98 percent accuracy in identifying the life-threatening condition in human patients.
2. Blood test seeks to accelerate sepsis diagnoses
In June, the FDA cleared a new blood test that rapidly identifies the triggering condition of a patient's infection, allowing physicians to give rapid targeted antibiotics.
3. How a 4-part system can help classify sepsis severity
For patients who develop intra-abdominal sepsis after surgery, a classification system that scores the variables linked to mortality rates for the infection could help guide care and improve patient outcomes.
4. Researchers find way to prevent capillary leakage associated with sepsis
Scientists at the University of Helsinki and Wihuri Research Institute, both in Finland, discovered a way to inhibit vascular leakage, which can cause sepsis, by targeting vascular integrins.
5. Study: Children's immune system could help prevent sepsis
The international research team at the University of Sheffield in England and Boston-based Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health identified the prime response systems children use in controlling infections.
6. UPMC physician: Providers need a 'bolder' approach to win the battle against sepsis
Despite the high number of sepsis deaths in hospitals each year, current approaches to battling it aren't working — and providers need to develop more innovative ways to tackle the deadly infection, Derek Angus, MD, professor and chair of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, writes.
7. CMS to publicly report hospitals' sepsis performance in July
CMS will publicly report hospitals' performance on the Sepsis Core Measure beginning with the next Hospital Compare release in July.
8. Sepsis patients face higher death risk at hospitals treating small numbers of them
Immunosuppressed patients with sepsis may face a greater risk of mortality if they are cared for in a hospital that treats a small number of these patients.
9. Obese hospital patients less likely to die from sepsis, study finds
A study involving data from over 3 million patients admitted for sepsis in 1,000 U.S. hospitals revealed overweight or obese patients were more likely to survive the infection than normal weight patients.
10. Sepsis patients treated in ED, released for outpatient care see improved outcomes
Although national guidelines assume all patients diagnosed with sepsis in the emergency department will be admitted to the hospital for more treatment, a recent study suggests significantly more patients are treated and released for outpatient follow-up than formerly realized.
11. Each hour of delay in measuring lactates in sepsis patients ups death risk by 2%
Elevated lactate levels can signify increased risk of mortality among sepsis patients; however, a significant number of patients do not have their lactate levels measured in the recommended time frame.
12. Sepsis shortfalls: How current sepsis care and measurement is lacking
Sepsis, a deadly complication caused by the body's extreme response to infection, poses a major issue for hospitals as the condition is both difficult and expensive to treat.
13. How a mix of vitamins and steroids could cure sepsis: 6 things to know
Researchers at Atlanta-based Emory University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston are launching two studies to test a treatment that could potentially cure the No. 1 cause of death in American hospitals — sepsis.
14. 4 thoughts on using hand hygiene protocols to reduce the threat of sepsis
Maintaining appropriate hand hygiene protocols is one of the key ways sepsis can be mitigated, according to a blog post by Rosie Lyles, MD, director of clinical affairs at Medline.
15. Mandatory sepsis reporting in New York linked to 13% increase in reported cases
A study focused on the repercussions of New York enacting mandatory sepsis reporting regulations shows a significant increase in the number of sepsis cases being reported to the state's clinical database.
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Here are 15 stories from Becker's Clinical Leadership & Infection Control on sepsis, the life-threatening condition that affects more than 1 million U.S. patients yearly, starting with the most recent.
1. Microfluidic chip detects sepsis with 98% accuracy
Researchers at the Texas Tech University in Lubbock invented a microfluidic chip to help detect sepsis using less than a drop of blood — and the device is showing 98 percent accuracy in identifying the life-threatening condition in human patients.
2. Blood test seeks to accelerate sepsis diagnoses
In June, the FDA cleared a new blood test that rapidly identifies the triggering condition of a patient's infection, allowing physicians to give rapid targeted antibiotics.
3. How a 4-part system can help classify sepsis severity
For patients who develop intra-abdominal sepsis after surgery, a classification system that scores the variables linked to mortality rates for the infection could help guide care and improve patient outcomes.
4. Researchers find way to prevent capillary leakage associated with sepsis
Scientists at the University of Helsinki and Wihuri Research Institute, both in Finland, discovered a way to inhibit vascular leakage, which can cause sepsis, by targeting vascular integrins.
5. Study: Children's immune system could help prevent sepsis
The international research team at the University of Sheffield in England and Boston-based Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health identified the prime response systems children use in controlling infections.
6. UPMC physician: Providers need a 'bolder' approach to win the battle against sepsis
Despite the high number of sepsis deaths in hospitals each year, current approaches to battling it aren't working — and providers need to develop more innovative ways to tackle the deadly infection, Derek Angus, MD, professor and chair of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, writes.
7. CMS to publicly report hospitals' sepsis performance in July
CMS will publicly report hospitals' performance on the Sepsis Core Measure beginning with the next Hospital Compare release in July.
8. Sepsis patients face higher death risk at hospitals treating small numbers of them
Immunosuppressed patients with sepsis may face a greater risk of mortality if they are cared for in a hospital that treats a small number of these patients.
9. Obese hospital patients less likely to die from sepsis, study finds
A study involving data from over 3 million patients admitted for sepsis in 1,000 U.S. hospitals revealed overweight or obese patients were more likely to survive the infection than normal weight patients.
10. Sepsis patients treated in ED, released for outpatient care see improved outcomes
Although national guidelines assume all patients diagnosed with sepsis in the emergency department will be admitted to the hospital for more treatment, a recent study suggests significantly more patients are treated and released for outpatient follow-up than formerly realized.
11. Each hour of delay in measuring lactates in sepsis patients ups death risk by 2%
Elevated lactate levels can signify increased risk of mortality among sepsis patients; however, a significant number of patients do not have their lactate levels measured in the recommended time frame.
12. Sepsis shortfalls: How current sepsis care and measurement is lacking
Sepsis, a deadly complication caused by the body's extreme response to infection, poses a major issue for hospitals as the condition is both difficult and expensive to treat.
13. How a mix of vitamins and steroids could cure sepsis: 6 things to know
Researchers at Atlanta-based Emory University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston are launching two studies to test a treatment that could potentially cure the No. 1 cause of death in American hospitals — sepsis.
14. 4 thoughts on using hand hygiene protocols to reduce the threat of sepsis
Maintaining appropriate hand hygiene protocols is one of the key ways sepsis can be mitigated, according to a blog post by Rosie Lyles, MD, director of clinical affairs at Medline.
15. Mandatory sepsis reporting in New York linked to 13% increase in reported cases
A study focused on the repercussions of New York enacting mandatory sepsis reporting regulations shows a significant increase in the number of sepsis cases being reported to the state's clinical database.