Mortality difference between early-identified sepsis and late-identified sepsis

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Sepsis remains a leading cause of hospital mortality worldwide.
• Timely identification and treatment are crucial for improving sepsis outcomes.
• The clinical implications of early versus late sepsis identification require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare in-hospital mortality rates between patients with early-identified sepsis and late-identified sepsis.
• To analyze clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with early sepsis identification.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 204 emergency department patients diagnosed with sepsis.
• Early-identified sepsis defined by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score ≥2 within one hour of admission.
• Late-identified sepsis included all other sepsis patients; primary outcome was in-hospital mortality.

Main Results:

• 113 patients (55.4%) had early-identified sepsis, with a significantly higher mortality rate (23.0%) compared to late-identified sepsis (6.6%).
• Early-identified sepsis patients presented with higher SOFA and APACHE II scores.
• Patients with early-identified sepsis were more likely to progress to septic shock and require intensive care unit admission.

Conclusions:

• Mortality was significantly higher in the early-identified sepsis group compared to the late-identified sepsis group.
• These findings challenge the assumption that earlier sepsis identification universally leads to better outcomes.