Early detection of sepsis in Pennsylvania's long-term care residents
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Pennsylvania patient safety advisory
- Author(s):
- Roberts, Terri Lee, author Davis, James, author
- Contributor(s):
- Pennsylvania. Patient Safety Authority, issuing body. ECRI (Organization), issuing body. Institute for Safe Medication Practices, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Harrisburg, Pennsylvania] : Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, September 2016
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Early Diagnosis Long-Term Care Sepsis -- diagnosis Sepsis -- epidemiology Inservice Training Nursing Homes Patient safety Humans Pennsylvania United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Sepsis impacts between 900,000 and 3 million people in the United States each year. With a mortality rate of 15% to 30%, it is the leading cause of death from infection. Sepsis incidence increases disproportionately in older adults. Over a two-year period, 486 potential occurrences of sepsis with 17 potential sepsis-related fatalities were recorded for residents in long-term care in Pennsylvania. Recognizing early sepsis and implementing evidenced-based therapies are actions that improve outcomes and decrease mortality. Despite the prevalence of sepsis and its serious consequences, awareness remains low, and sepsis is frequently under-diagnosed early, when it is still potentially reversible. The signs of both infection and organ dysfunction may be subtle, and recognizing sepsis in older adults with multiple comorbidities may be difficult. Using a sepsis screening tool to identify sepsis early in long-term care may help to optimize safety in this population. Holding simulation sessions using the tool and acting on positive sepsis screens can lead to user proficiency in resident assessment and improved communication with medical providers. Incorporating a sepsis screening tool into the electronic health record can potentially aid with early identification of sepsis.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (7 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101693081 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101693081