Emergency department sepsis screening tool decreases time to antibiotics in patients with sepsis

Recent literature has highlighted the importance of early identification and treatment of sepsis; however, limited data exists to help recognize sepsis in the emergency department (ED) through use of a screening tool. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a sepsis screening tool implemented in an academic medical center ED on compliance with the 3-hour sepsis bundle. This was a retrospective cohort study that included a total of 115 patients, of which 58 were in the pre-tool group and 57 were in the post-tool group. There was no difference in 3-hour bundle compliance between groups (36.2% vs. 47.4%, P = 0.26). There was no difference in the following bundle components: lactate (79.3% vs. 80.7%, P = 0.85), blood cultures (86.2% vs. 96.5%, P = 0.09), blood cultures before administering antibiotics (91.4% vs. 100%, P = 0.57) and adequate fluids administration (44.7% vs. 41.9%, P = 0.820). A significantly higher number of patients received antibiotics within 3 h in the post-tool group (58.6% vs. 89.5%, P < 0.001). Statistically significant secondary outcomes included average time to antibiotics (P = 0.04), administering antibiotics within an hour (P > 0.001), and ICU length of stay (P = 0.03). There was no difference in 30-day mortality, however mortality was numerically lower in the post-tool group (36.2% vs. 26.3%, P = 0.25). Although implementation of an ED sepsis screening tool did not increase 3-hour bundle compliance, it did increase the proportion of patients receiving timely antimicrobial therapy and demonstrated a trend towards decreased mortality.