Digital alerts which monitor patients for sepsis have resulted in a fall in deaths and hospital stays linked to the deadly condition.
The system has been in place across the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s emergency departments and inpatient wards since 2016, notifying doctors if factors such as temperature, heart rate and glucose levels fall outside what is considered safe.
Clinicians are informed via a pop-up warning which appears in electronic health records or on a dashboard.
Analysing data from more than 21,000 alerts from the system between October 2016 and May 2018, researchers found the odds of in-hospital death fell by almost a quarter (24%).
Patients who set off the alert also had a 35% increased chance of receiving timely antibiotics to treat the condition compared to a group of patients who underwent the usual standard of care without the alert system’s involvement.
They also found that patients who were admitted to hospital had a 4% lower chance of staying for more than a week.
Sepsis occurs when the immune system damages tissues and organs as it responds to infection in the body, killing about 37,000 people a year.
“Sepsis can be deadly if it’s not diagnosed and treated quickly,” said Imperial College London’s Dr Kate Honeyford, lead author of the research.
“However, symptoms can be hard to spot and are similar to other conditions such as flu or a chest infection, which can result in delayed diagnosis and treatments.”
Dr Anne Kinderlerer, consultant rheumatologist at the trust and co-author of the study, added: “The findings from this study show that the alert has made a significant impact on identifying more cases of sepsis and reducing the number of patients who die in hospital as a result.
“More patients are surviving sepsis at our hospitals and it is testament to the alert and treatment plans we have working hand in hand to help us ensure that patients are treated with antibiotics and other interventions in order to save more lives.
“Our plan is now to roll this alert system out across the trust in different health specialities so that we can further reduce the toll and impact that sepsis has on our patients.”
Researchers used data from patients at emergency departments and acute and haematology wards at St Mary’s Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here