News: CDC calling all U.S. hospitals to start programs and raise bar on sepsis care

In a recent survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 27% of hospitals in the United States reported that they do not have a sepsis program to lead intervention. And of those hospitals with sepsis teams, only 55% reported that their team leaders get dedicated time to manage their sepsis programs, Medscape Medical News reported.

The CDC survey evaluated prevalence and characteristics of sepsis programs in 5,221 acute care hospitals. When broken down by hospital size, 53% of hospitals with 0-25 beds reported having a committee that monitors and reviews sepsis care, while 95% of hospitals with more than 500 beds reported the same. Also, about 55% of those with committees reported involvement with antibiotic stewardship programs.

Along with the survey results, the CDC released the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements guide in order to assist hospitals in developing and implementing sepsis programs that effectively improve patient care and complement the implementation of existing clinical guidelines. The guide builds on prior large-scale efforts and initiatives to improve sepsis outcomes with the following goals:

• Emphasize the importance of hospital leadership in directing that clinicians leading the program have the time, resources (including data analytics), and support structures needed to succeed
• Address all hospital-based sepsis activities, including education, tracking sepsis management, and reporting sepsis outcomes
• Address management of sepsis throughout hospitalization, not just the first six to 24 hours

The report states that the establishment of robust hospital sepsis programs will prepare hospitals for changes in sepsis policy and treatment that are anticipated in the coming decade, such as a 30-day mortality measure for community-onset sepsis that CMS has begun to develop.

“[The CDC is] not asking hospitals to develop new, innovative kinds of sepsis programs. This is not about new drugs or new antibiotics or new devices,” Craig Weinert, MD, MPH, a pulmonologist and critical care physician and professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, told Medscape Medical News. “This is about having hospitals dedicate organizational resources to implementing sepsis programs.”

As part of Sepsis Awareness Month, the CDC will also provide educational information about preventing infections that can lead to sepsis in its Get Ahead of Sepsis campaign throughout September.

Editor’s note: To read Medscape Medical News’ coverage of this story, click here. To access the CDC survey, click here.