How Common and Preventable are Sepsis-Associated Deaths in Hospitals?
A study by Chanu Rhee, MD, MPH, of Harvard Medical School, and co-authors, estimates how common sepsis-related deaths are in hospitals and how preventable those deaths might be.
In a retrospective study using medical record reviews of 568 patients who died in six U.S. hospitals or who were discharged to hospice in 2014 or 2015, sepsis was present in more than half (300) of the hospitalizations and directly caused death in more than one-third (198) of cases.
Most sepsis-associated deaths occurred in medically complex patients with severe coexisting conditions and most deaths were considered unlikely to have been prevented through better hospital care.
These findings suggest that further innovations in the prevention and care of underlying conditions may be necessary before major reduction in sepsis deaths can be achieved.
The study was conducted in only six hospitals and may not generalize to all hospitals.
Source: JAMA Network Open
I Was There: An Infection Preventionist on the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 30th 2025Deep feelings run strong about the COVID-19 pandemic, and some beautiful art has come out of those emotions. Infection Control Today is proud to share this poem by Carmen Duke, MPH, CIC, in response to a recent article by Heather Stoltzfus, MPH, RN, CIC.
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April 27th 2025Elizabeth (Betty) Casey, MSN, RN, CNOR, CRCST, CHL, is the SVP of Operations and Chief Nursing Officer at Surgical Solutions in Overland, Kansas. This SPD leader reframes preparation, unpredictability, and teamwork by comparing surgical services to the Kentucky Derby to reenergize sterile processing professionals and inspire systemic change.
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