Summary Background Sepsis bundles, promulgated by Surviving Sepsis Campaign have not been widely adopted because of variability in sepsis identification strategies, implementation challenges, concerns about excess antimicrobial use, and limited evidence of benefit. Methods A 1-hour septic shock and a 3-hour sepsis bundle were implemented using a Breakthrough Series Collaborative in 14 public hospitals in Queensland, Australia. A before (baseline) and after (post-intervention) study evaluated its impact on outcomes and antimicrobial prescription in patients with confirmed bacteremia and sepsis. Findings Between 01 July 2017 to 31 March 2020, of 6976 adults presenting to the Emergency Departments and had a blood culture taken, 1802 patients (732 baseline, 1070 post-intervention) met inclusion criteria. Time to antibiotics in 1-hour 73.7% vs 85.1% (OR 1.9 [95%CI 1.1-3.6]) and the 3-hour bundle compliance (48.2% to 63.3%, OR 1.7, [95%CI 1.4 to 2.1]) improved post-intervention, accompanied by a significant reduction in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission rates (26.5% vs 17.5% (OR 0.5, [95%CI 0.4 to 0.7]). There were no significant differences in-hospital and 30-day post discharge mortality between the two phases. In a post-hoc analysis of the post-intervention phase, sepsis pathway compliance was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (9.7% vs 14.9%, OR 0.6, 95%CI 0.4 to 0.8). The proportions of appropriate antimicrobial prescription at baseline and post-intervention respectively were 55.4% vs 64.1%, (OR 1.4 [95%CI 0.9 to 2.1]). Interpretation Implementing 1-hour and 3-hour sepsis bundles for patients presenting with bacteremia resulted in improved bundle compliance and a reduced need for ICU admission without adversely influencing antimicrobial prescription.
We examined systems-level costs before and after the implementation of an emergency department paediatric sepsis screening, recognition and treatment pathway. Aggregated hospital admissions for all children aged < 18y with a diagnosis code of sepsis upon admission in Queensland, Australia were compared for 16 participating and 32 non-participating hospitals before and after pathway implementation. Monte Carlo simulation was used to generate uncertainty intervals. Policy impacts were estimated using difference-in-difference analysis comparing observed and expected results. We compared 1055 patient episodes before (77.6% in-pathway) and 1504 after (80.5% in-pathway) implementation. Reductions were likely for non-intensive length of stay (− 20.8 h [− 36.1, − 8.0]) but not intensive care (–9.4 h [− 24.4, 5.0]). Non-pathway utilisation was likely unchanged for interhospital transfers (+ 3.2% [− 5.0%, 11.4%]), non-intensive (− 4.5 h [− 19.0, 9.8]) and intensive (+ 7.7 h, [− 20.9, 37.7]) care length of stay. After difference-in-difference adjustment, estimated savings were 596 [277, 942] non-intensive and 172 [148, 222] intensive care days. The program was cost-saving in 63.4% of simulations, with a mean value of $97,019 [− $857,273, $1,654,925] over 24 months. A paediatric sepsis pathway in Queensland emergency departments was associated with potential reductions in hospital utilisation and costs.
Purpose To assess accuracy of early diagnosis, appropriateness and timeliness of response, and clinical outcomes of older general medical inpatients with hospital-acquired sepsis. Methods Hospital abstracts of inpatient encounters from seven digital Queensland public hospitals between July 2018 and September 2020 were screened retrospectively for diagnoses of hospital-acquired sepsis. Electronic medical records were retrieved and cases meeting selection criteria and classified as confirmed or probable sepsis using pre-specified criteria were included. Investigations and treatments following the first digitally generated alert of clinical deterioration were compared with a best practice sepsis care bundle. Outcome measures comprised 30-day all-cause mortality after deterioration, and unplanned readmissions at 14 days after discharge. Results Of the 169 screened care episodes, 59 comprised probable or confirmed cases of sepsis treated by general medicine teams at the time of initial deterioration. Of these, 43 (72.9%) had no mention of sepsis in the differential diagnosis on first medical review, and only 38 (64%) were managed as having sepsis. Each care bundle component of blood cultures, serum lactate, and intravenous fluid resuscitation and antibiotics was only delivered in approximately 30% of cases, and antibiotic administration was delayed more than an hour in 28 of 38 (73.7%) cases. Conclusion Early recognition of sepsis and timely implementation of care bundles are challenging in older general medical patients. Education programs in sepsis care standards targeting nurses and junior medical staff, closer patient monitoring, and post-discharge follow-up may improve patient outcomes.
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