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Pediatric Sepsis Week raises awareness of life-threatening condition
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The nonprofit organization Sepsis Alliance has launched Pediatric Sepsis Week, which runs April 21 to 27, to promote public awareness of the symptoms of sepsis and to educate health care providers so they can better identify and treat children with the potentially deadly condition.
The CDC notes that sepsis is an “extreme response” to an infection that can cause life-threatening side effects, including tissue damage, organ failure and death. Patients may become confused or disoriented and have shortness of breath, a high heart rate, fever and extreme pain or discomfort. According to Sepsis Alliance, more than 75,000 children develop severe sepsis every year in the United States.
To mark Pediatric Sepsis Week, Infectious Diseases in Children compiled a list of the most up-to-date findings on the condition.
Computer-assisted model accurately predicts sepsis
A model that included routinely collected patient information accurately predicted sepsis among hospitalized patients aged 16 years and older in England, according to research published in CMAJ. Read More
Study shows ‘significant disparities’ in global fatality rates from sepsis
There has been a downward trend in pediatric severe sepsis and septic shock case-fatality rates between 1981 and 2016, researchers reported in JAMA Pediatrics. However, they found “significant disparities” in cases between developed and developing nations. Read More
Sepsis present in more than half of hospital death s
In United States hospitals, sepsis was a leading cause of death; however, most deaths were not preventable through better hospital care, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open. Read More
25% of sepsis cases following PCV13 introduction caused by S. pneumoniae
One-quarter of all community-acquired sepsis cases among Swiss children were attributable to Streptococcus pneumoniae shortly after the introduction of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, or PCV13, according to research published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Read More
Sepsis surveillance limited by variations in claims data
An analysis of records from nearly 200 hospitals showed that variations in the completeness and accuracy of claims data make it difficult to compare sepsis rates and outcomes. Read More
References:
CDC. Sepsis. https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/index.html. Accessed April 22, 2019.
Sepsis Alliance. Pediatric Sepsis Week. https://www.sepsis.org/event/pediatric-sepsis-week. Accessed April 22, 2019.