Sepsis starts as an infection that gets out of control and can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. According to the Sepsis Alliance, “Sepsis is the number 1 cost of hospitalization in the U.S. Costs for acute sepsis hospitalization and skilled nursing are estimated to be $62 billion annually.” With more than 270,000 lives lost per year, sepsis ranks as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. (after heart disease and cancer).
Using data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sepsis would rank higher than chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and accidental deaths. There are more than 1.7 million cases of sepsis every year, and survivors often face long-term effects post-sepsis, including amputations, anxiety, memory loss, chronic pain and fatigue, and more. Sepsis is also the most expensive in-hospital condition in the U.S., costing an estimated $62 billion each year, counting just acute care in-hospital and skilled nursing costs.
Every cut, scrape, or break in the skin – including surgical incisions – can allow bacteria to enter your body that could cause an infection. For this reason, infection prevention begins with ensuring that all wounds be cleaned as quickly as possible and kept clean as they heal. They should also be monitored for signs of an infection.
Signs and symptoms include changes in vital signs trends such as an increased heart rate, lower blood pressure, fever, as well as confusion, and shortness of breath. Often the signs of this uncontrolled infection can be missed with spot-check monitoring, which only looks at a snapshot of the patient's current vital signs.
By evaluating the vital sign trends versus a single snapshot, patients with developing sepsis can be identified and treated before it progresses to life-threatening septic shock.
Using your hospital’s wireless infrastructure, ViSi Mobile, a vital sign surveillance monitoring system, allows beside staff to keep their eye on life while performing their daily tasks. This is accomplished by point of care, real-time vital sign data being sent to a centralized monitor.
By integrating ViSi Mobile with your hospital’s other technology, alarms can also be sent to staff phones, and data can be uploaded into patient electronic medical records. See how Sotera can help with continuous, real-time vital sign monitoring while minimizing patient disruption.
Sources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sepsis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351214
https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/what-is-sepsis.html
https://www.sepsis.org/sepsis-basics/what-is-sepsis/