Pilot Implementation and Evaluation of the Sepsis Bundle in the Department of Medicine of the Philippine General Hospital

Abstract

RATIONALE Sepsis is the leading cause of mortality among medical patients in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). A previous study illustrated variations in sepsis management. The Department of Medicine developed a sepsis pathway based on the Surviving Sepsis Campaign bundles to standardize care and improve outcomes. We determined the coverage and compliance with the pathway, the barriers to compliance and sepsis-related mortality. METHODS This was a single-center mixed methods study on the pilot implementation of the sepsis pathway (April 8 to July 7, 2019) in the medical service areas, i.e. emergency department (ED), medical wards and medical intensive care unit (MICU), of a tertiary level teaching hospital. We tracked all medicine charity admissions with infections to determine coverage. Compliance and patient outcomes were assessed through chart reviews. Focus group discussions and interviews were done to identify barriers to implementing the sepsis bundle. RESULTS Among 296 admissions with infections (49% female, mean age 51.4 years), there were 422 patient-days eligible for pathway coverage but only 199 patient-days (47.16%) were covered. The ED had the highest coverage rate. Overall mortality rate among the admissions was at 39.2%. Among septic patients who were covered, 40% died. Missed cases were associated with increased odds of in-hospital death (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.88) on multivariate analysis. Compliance with recommended diagnostics was high except for lactate and bilirubin. Blood cultures were sent 98% of the time. Only 35% of patients received antibiotics by one hour after activation. Fluids recorded over 6 hours were inadequate (mean 4.77 mL/kg, standard deviation: 2.82 mL/kg). Of 73 patients with hypotension needing fluid resuscitation, only 12 had blood pressure documented 30 minutes post-activation. Stakeholders identified inadequate human and physical resources, hospital policy changes and pathway form construction as barriers to compliance. Fellows, nurses, and students reported lack of orientation on their roles.

Identification of Potential Prognosticators for Sepsis through Expression Analysis of Transcriptomic Data from Sepsis Survivors and Nonsurvivors

“…6 In the Philippines, the case fatality rate reached 30% for sepsis and up to 80% for septic shock among hospitalized patients and is considered one of the primary causes of patient mortality. 7,8 In sepsis prevention and detection, using prognosticators to identify patients genetically predisposed to septic shock may significantly improve the condition's mortality rate. With accurate molecular prognosticators, it is possible to predict the survival of patients diagnosed with sepsis.…”