Prehospital Sepsis Recognition and Outcomes for Patients with Sepsis by Race and Ethnicity

First medical contact for patients with sepsis often initiates in the prehospital setting, yet limited studies have explored the EMS sepsis recognition-mortality relationship. Racial and ethnic minority patients often have worse sepsis outcomes, yet the role of prehospital recognition in this inequity has not been explored. Our objective was to describe prehospital sepsis recognition and hospital mortality, with analysis by patient race and ethnicity.

Using linked EMS and hospital records from the 2021 ESO Data Collaborative, we retrospectively analyzed 9-1-1 EMS transports for adult patients with emergency department ICD-10 sepsis diagnosis codes. EMS sepsis recognition was defined as a primary or secondary sepsis impression, use of an electronic health record specialty sepsis form, or a prehospital sepsis alert. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess the association between EMS sepsis recognition and hospital mortality, adjusting for age, sex, race and ethnicity, scene socioeconomic status, and documented clinical characteristics: altered mental status, hypotension, tachypnea, tachycardia, fever. We conducted a secondary analysis of patients who were positive for the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) using first prehospital vital signs.

We analyzed 20,172 records for EMS-transported patients with diagnosed sepsis. Overall, 8% of patients were Black, 8% were Hispanic, and 72% were White. Prehospital sepsis recognition was 18%. Prehospital sepsis recognition was similar across racial and ethnic groups (Black: 17.2%, Hispanic: 17.4%, White: 18.1%) and adjusted odds of sepsis recognition did not differ between racial and ethnic groups. Overall mortality was 11% (2,186). Prehospital sepsis recognition was associated with a 18% reduction in adjusted odds of mortality (OR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.70-0.94). Of patients who were qSOFA positive in the field (n = 2,168), EMS sepsis recognition was 32% and was similar across race and ethnicities. Adjusted odds of mortality were 0.68 (95% CI: 0.53-0.88) when sepsis was recognized in the prehospital setting.

EMS identified sepsis in fewer than one in three patients even after limiting to those positive for qSOFA, without differences by race and ethnicity. EMS sepsis recognition was associated with reduced odds of mortality; however, Black patients remained at greater odds of death suggesting additional factors that warrant investigation.