Septicemia, the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., rose 32 percent between 2005 and 2010, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's "Statistical Brief #161."
The brief is compiled from a study of seven states: Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, New York, Utah and Washington. An examination of septicemia cases in these states between 2005 and 2010 found:
- Septicemia was the sixth most common inpatient diagnosis.
- Rates of septicemia hospitalizations rose from 492 per 100,000 population to 651 per 100,000 population, or a 32 percent increase.
- By 2010, approximately 354,000 patients were hospitalized for septicemia at least once. Sixteen percent of these patients were admitted two or more times for the condition within one year, compared with 11.5 percent in 2005.
- Average length of stay for a septicemia diagnosis decreased from 9.3 to 8.3 days.
- Approximately 47 percent of patients readmitted after a septicemia diagnosis had been discharged to a long-term care facility.
- Patients most likely to die during hospitalization for septicemia had been admitted from skilled nursing facilities.
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