Half of Hospital Stay Fatalities Caused by Sepsis

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Medical Malpractice

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente, a national health care organization, recently discovered that almost half of hospital deaths that occurred between 2010 through 2012 could be traced back to sepsis. Sepsis happens when the whole body responds to a bacterial infection. In many cases, the body’s reaction in order to fight the infection is so severe it can cause organs to shut down, resulting in death.

The study examined over 7 million adult hospitalizations between 2010 and 2012. There were approximately 500,000 cases that were taken directly from Kaiser facilities, however, the remaining 6.5 million cases came from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS).

The research team not only examined patient records that were clearly identified as having sepsis, but also patients who were reported to have both organ failure and infections. This was done in light of the fact that many medical personnel do not recognize sepsis symptoms.

The results revealed that sepsis occurs in about 10 percent of all hospital patients and is responsible for almost half of all hospital deaths.

In the group of patients from Kaiser facilities, there were just over 14,000 who had died, with just under 40 percent of those who had “explicit” symptom criteria for sepsis. Another 56 percent had “implicit” symptom criteria for sepsis.

The number of patients from the NIS who died totaled 143,312. Of those, almost 35 percent met the explicit symptom criteria and 52 had implicit symptom criteria.

The price to fight sepsis is high, accounting for one-fifth of total hospital charges. According to the U.S. National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the annual cost to combat sepsis totals over $20 billion.

If you are struggling with an illness or injury caused by a stay in a medical facility, contact an experienced Orland Park medical malpractice attorney to find out what legal recourse you may have for pain and loss.