Post-Sepsis Syndrome after Critical Illness: Epidemiology and Long-term Outcomes

Survival after sepsis has improved over recent decades, resulting in a growing population of sepsis survivors. Survivorship after sepsis is frequently marked by significant long-term morbidity, including new functional dependence, cognitive impairment, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, recurrent hospitalization, and excess long-term mortality. This article presents the current knowledge on the epidemiology of long-term outcomes among critically ill adult sepsis survivors, with particular emphasis on patient-centered outcomes, their prevalence, and contributing factors, and a discussion of the emerging role of biomarkers, immunologic profiling, and artificial intelligence in individualized prediction and post-sepsis care pathways.