One in six sepsis patients die within a year of leaving hospital, study shows

Sepsis occurs when the body overreacts to an infection
Sepsis occurs when the body overreacts to an infection Credit: PA

One in six sepsis patients die within a year of leaving hospital, a study has found, prompting calls for better post-infection care.

The first research to analyse long-term outcomes also found that a further six to eight per cent of sepsis patients who recover from the condition die each year over the following five years.

Sepsis is a serious complication of an infection, which occurs when the body's immune system overreacts and begins attacking organs and tissues.

It can lead to multiple organ failure and death if it is not spotted in time.

There are approximately 250,000 cases of sepsis every year in the UK.

The research, led by Dr Manu Shankar-Hari, from Guy's and St Thomas' hospital in London, included data on 94,748 patients from 192 critical care units in England.

All had survived to hospital discharge following a critical care unit admission for sepsis between April 2009 and March 2014.

The approximately 15 per cent 12-month mortality rate for those who survive sepsis in an intensive care unit (ICU) contrasts significantly with the roughly two per cent rate among the general ICU population.

Dr Shankar-Hari said: “"We now know the magnitude of this long-term risk of death in sepsis survivors.

"Given what we now know, we will be trying to find out what the best interventions are to prevent these deaths, how to identify those sepsis survivors who are at greatest risk and more likely to benefit the most from such interventions.

"More importantly, this new research informs the health policy debate around how to plan follow-up care of sepsis survivors and critical illness survivors in general."

The data does not include how the sepsis survivors died.

Dr Ron Daniels, chief executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, said some patients may have succumbed to re-infection, while others may have taken their own lives due to the psychological difficulties suffered by many following the complication.

He called for better access to physiotherapy, counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy after discharge.

"It's important that we don't allow these new findings to cause undue alarm for those recovering from sepsis,” he said.

"This research focuses specifically on patients admitted to intensive care units, who are already at higher risk of death or long-term complications following sepsis.

"Whilst many survivors experience physical, physiological and emotional after-effects, the majority of people who survive sepsis will make a full recovery.

"However, this kind of research is important as it highlights the need for better resources to inform survivors about the potential risks following sepsis, and better follow-up services for those people."

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