Sepsis is costly and deadly, but there is hope
Carla Kriwet
Experienced CEO and Chair / Supervisory Board Member of large Healthcare and Consumer Goods companies
September is sepsis awareness month, so I’d like to share the story of Adrienne, a young mother and a friend of mine, who developed a strep infection which subsequently turned into pneumonia. At the time, Adrienne was home alone with her two small children when her breathing became so difficult that she had to call 911. Adrienne then spent two months fighting for her life in intensive care and enduring multiple complications. She had never heard of sepsis – but it nearly killed her.
Sepsis from a suspected or documented infection has global implications affecting more than 30 million people worldwide each year and taking 8 million lives including more than 3 million children each year. Beyond the significant human toll, sepsis is the #1 cost of hospitalization in the U.S. consuming more than $27 billion each year.
There is hope. Sepsis outcomes improve with rapid early diagnosis and treatment. Mortality from sepsis increases by as much as 8% for every hour that treatment is delayed.
At Philips, we seek to address the daunting challenge faced by health systems to improve sepsis outcomes in their populations. Our approach is to combine smart algorithms and technology with collaborative clinical programs to meet international medical community recommendations for sepsis screening, assessment, treatment and reporting.
Sepsis can develop in the community or within the hospital. According to the Sepsis Alliance, sepsis can be identified by the acronym TIME: higher or lower Temperature, signs of Infection, Mental decline (confused or sleepy), and Extremely ill (“I feel like I am going to die”).
Please join Adrienne and I: 1) to spread the word about sepsis and 2) to thank all our frontline clinicians who are fighting this devastating disease.
References:
- https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb204-Most-Expensive-Hospital-Conditions.pdf
- https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb225-Inpatient-US-Stays-Trends.jsp
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-14/america-has-a-27-billion-sepsis-crisis
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16625125
Experienced Medical Device Global Regulations and Standards Consultant, Strategist and Change Leader - Principal and Founder, Elisabeth George Consulting LLC
6 年Thank you for sharing.?? I suspect this hits closer than most people can imagine.? Lost my mom to it and have a friend recently diagnosed.?
Release Coordinator at Health First, Reiki Practitioner, Deeksha (Oneness Blessing) Giver, Social Media Marketing Designer (Digital creation for flyers, company logos, Facebook, & Instagram Posts)
6 年I believe that people are waiting too long for treatment because the trend by clinicians has been to “wait” things out. I know personally I avoid the doctors because it’s not cost effective to keep going back to them as you did not fall within their designated window of treatment. So I often will hold off with myself and my children because of this. But often times I wonder if waiting could be causing more harm than good especially in something that is as critical as this. Seriously, people shouldn’t be dying from strep or anything else that could so easily be cured when treated appropriately and within an acceptable time frame. Having just suffered through what I think was a viral illness. And trust me the words “I feel like I’m dying” came to mind more than once while I laid in bed crying unable to move because my entire body ached. I probably should have been evaluated but I knew they were just going to send me home, say “it’s viral,” and wait it out. So I saved myself a copay and stayed home. I can see how easily this scenario could play out in many people’s lives. As people become complacent with this being the “status quo” we are losing the ability to know when it’s critical and when it’s not.
Building an Oxygen portfolio to support our patients globally
6 年Thank you Carla for sharing this story. This is an?important subject for all of us to be aware of and working towards spreading the knowledge. ?if diagnosed early the patient outcome is good. I believe creating AI models to predict the?chances of Sepsis could help a lot of Physicians and patients..