Polk County, Fla., Proves EMS Can Save Lives by Detecting Sepsis & Alerting Hospitals

Sepsis is a whole-body inflammatory, overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death. Sepsis kills approximately 258,000 Americans each year, which ranks it as the third leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease and cancer.1 Severe cases of sepsis can lead to septic shock, where systemic inflammation causes tiny blood clots to form, blocking oxygen from vital organs. This leads to organ failure and causes a life-threatening drop in blood pressure.2 Severe sepsis affects more than a million Americans each year, and often occurs in people who are elderly or have weak immune systems. It's been estimated that 28–50% of severe sepsis patients die—far more than the number of U.S. deaths from prostate cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined.3 The number of sepsis cases per year has been on the rise in the U.S.3 This is likely due to a combination of factors, including increased awareness and tracking of the condition, an aging population, the increased longevity of people with chronic diseases, the spread of antibiotic-resistant organisms, an upsurge in invasive procedures and broader use of immunosuppressive and chemotherapeutic agents. There are more than 1.6 million cases of sepsis every year.4 Up to half of the people who survive face the long-term effects of "post-sepsis syndrome," including worsened cognitive or mental and physical function.5,6 This commonly results in surviv...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Patient Care Source Type: news