Pathophysiology of Sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency. In the United States, over 1.6 million hospitalizations and 250,000 deaths are attributed to sepsis each year. It is important that healthcare providers are aware of the signs/symptoms of sepsis because effective treatment depends on rapid recognition and treatment. Current quality improvement measures were used to investigate sepsis treatment recommendations. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Joint Commision (JC) recommend the use of Severe Sepsis/Septic Shock Early Management Bundle (SEP-1). The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) launched the Emergency Quality Network (E-QUAL) Sepsis Initiative as an addition to the SEP1 to address patient outcomes specific to the emergency room. Finally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Surviving Sepsis campaign. This campaign uses the same treatments introduced by the SEP-1 Bundle but emphasizes the importance of rapid treatment. Decreasing initial treatment timeframe from 3 hours to 1 hour. In addition to improving sepsis treatment, quality initiatives are used to improve “door to treatment” times. EQUAL initiatives recommend the use of a nursing sepsis screening, the use of a sepsis alert team, and rapid initiation of a sepsis protocol. Early recognition and treatment are the key to improving patient outcomes. Adherence to quality initiatives and sepsis interventions is the best way to improve morbidity and mortality rates related to sepsis