Better outcomes for patients with severe sepsis

According to a new study led by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), patients with severe sepsis admitted to academic medical centers present lower mortality rates, compared to patients with milder sepsis and admitted to academic medical centers. The results of this study are published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The study leader is Allan J. Walkey, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine, BUSM and attending physician, pulmonary, critical and allergy medicine at Boston Medical Center. The team of researchers examined academic hospitals` data across the country and there were 56,997 patients identified with severe sepsis, all of them admitted to one of the 124 academic hospitals in 2011. The average hospitalization period was found to be 12.5 days and the average cost was estimated to $26,304 per patient. “Our study results demonstrate that hospitals with more experience caring for patients with severe sepsis were able to achieve better outcomes than hospitals with less experience with sepsis, possibly due to better processes of care for patients with sepsis”, said Walkey.