Category: Sepsis

The Benefits of Multidisciplinary Teams in Sepsis Care at the Healthcare Facility Level: The Role of the Nurse

This article discusses the role of nurses in improving sepsis care. Written by one of our nurse writers, Marsha Pope Harrison, it discusses the recent 4th World Sepsis Congress on the benefits of multidisciplinary teams in sepsis care.

By Marsha Pope Harrison, RN, BSN 

Sepsis is a medical emergency that needs prompt and coordinated care. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines sepsis as a life-threatening illness that occurs when the body’s response to an infection causes damage to its tissues and organs. The damage caused by sepsis can rapidly lead to organ failure and death.

Any infection can result in sepsis, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states nearly 87% of sepsis cases start before the patient gets to the hospital.  

Sepsis is a notable cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In America, 1.7 million adults develop sepsis, and 350,000 die during their hospitalization, according to the CDC. 

With that said, we must take an interdisciplinary approach to treat patients who arrive with signs and symptoms of this deadly condition. This is where multidisciplinary teams for sepsis care come into play. Multidisciplinary teams play a crucial role in providing comprehensive and effective sepsis care. 

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Biomarkers in Early Diagnosis of Sepsis: An Interview With Dr. François Ventura

Biomarkers in Early Diagnosis of Sepsis: An Interview With Dr. François Ventura

By Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Dr. François Ventura is a specialist in anesthesiology, intensive care medicine, and emergency medicine at the University Hospitals of Geneva and at the Hirslanden Clinique des Grangettes (Geneva, Switzerland). He also collaborates part-time as the chief medical officer of Abionic, a Lausanne-based Swiss MedTech company specializing in the development of ultra-rapid in vitro diagnostic tests.

Dr. François Ventura

I first met him when he spoke on a case report he and his colleagues had published in the Journal of Surgical Case Reports. This report detailed a 62-year-old man who experienced complications of abdominal surgery with intra-abdominal infection, postoperative peritonitis, sepsis, septic shock, and multiple organ failure requiring complex management and multiple surgical interventions.

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Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety Accredits 4th World Sepsis Congress for Continuing Medical Education Credits

We are pleased to announce that 12 of the 16 sessions of the 4th World Sepsis Congress hosted by the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) have been accredited by the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) for continuing medical education (CME) credits. 

To receive continuing medical education credits for watching the Congress sessions, please click here. Time-limited offer – purchase 1 course by June 30, 2023, and take the other 11 for free in July!

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Sepsis is the Leading Cause of Death in Children

Sepsis is the Leading Cause of Death in Children

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder & Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Pediatric Sepsis is a Common and Deadly Problem

According to the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), pediatric sepsis is a common and deadly public health issue:

Population-based studies of the prevalence of pediatric sepsis estimate 72-89 cases per 100,000 pediatric population in the United States, with over 50,000-75,000 hospitalizations for pediatric sepsis and an associated cost near $5 billion annually. Globally, there are an estimated 22 cases of pediatric severe sepsis per 100,000 person-years and 2,202 cases of neonatal sepsis per 100,000 live births, translating into 1.2 million cases of pediatric and 3 million cases of neonatal sepsis per year. Over 4% of all hospitalized patients younger than 18 years and 8% of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients in the United States have sepsis. Although estimates are challenged by a lack of standardized data collection and inconsistent reporting, these data confirm that sepsis is common in pediatric patients.

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What is COVIDSepsis?

What is COVIDSepsis?

COVIDSepsis Defined

COVIDSepis (noun): COVIDSepsis is a medical condition where the patient presents with the following conditions – coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and fever. Patients with COVIDSepsis may also have an altered mental state, difficulty breathing, reduced urine output, rapid heart rate, a weak pulse, and cold extremities. 

According to the Sepsis Alliance, “severe COVID-19 is viral sepsis.” As a result, distinguishing between whether a patient is suffering from COVID or has sepsis can be very difficult. As researchers in their research published in December of 2021 concluded:

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Global Sepsis Alliance Commends Physician-Patient Alliance Video Featuring Dr. Ken Rothfield

The Global Sepsis Alliance has commended the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) for its invaluable contribution to reducing the unacceptable human suffering from sepsis. The Global Sepsis Awards, which are sponsored by the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation, honor outstanding efforts to increase sepsis awareness and raise the quality of sepsis prevention and management.

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Sepsis Protocols Need Improving to Prevent Complications of Care

Editor’s Note: This editorial from the desk of PPAHS’s Executive Director encourages sepsis protocols to be revising to prevent complications of care.

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Patients go into hospital expecting to get “fixed” – to have whatever ails them to be treated. This is what we go to doctors for. In fact, this is what we go to any expert for – we go to lawyers to handle our legal problems, accountants to handle our accounting problems, doctors to handle our health problems.

Therefore, to go into hospital and contract another ailment – one unrelated to what we went in for – is concerning. For the patient, it means having to deal with this second ailment, including the related extra time, expense, and pain and suffering that that entails. For the physician, it means that something has been done or not done that has resulted in the patient getting ailment number two.

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Should We Be Watching a Stopwatch or Wanting Better Patient Care? – The Debate over the 1-Hour Sepsis Bundle

Editor’s Note: This editorial from the desk of PPAHS’s Executive Director asks whether the debate over the 1-hour sepsis bundle should focus on improving care and not on making sure certain procedures are done within a 60-minute timeframe.

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

The recent kerfuffle over the 1-Hour Sepsis Bundle has missed the point about the need for better patient care and a much needed effort to save patient lives.

In 2002, the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the International Sepsis Forum came together and formed the Surviving Sepsis Campaign aiming to reduce sepsis-related mortality by 25% within 5 years. The goals of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign were to improve the management of sepsis through a 7-point agenda including:

  • Building awareness of sepsis
  • Improving diagnosis
  • Increasing the use of appropriate treatment
  • Educating healthcare professionals
  • Improving post-ICU care
  • Developing guidelines of care
  • Implementing a performance improvement program

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