Sepsis is a leading cause of death in hospitalized children. It kills 7,000 children annually in the U.S., more than cancer. As many as 75,000 children are hospitalized annually for sepsis, and it is one of the most expensive conditions to treat.
What is pediatric sepsis?
Sepsis is the immune system overreacting to an infection of any kind. It can spread rapidly in children’s small bodies. Children with compromised immune systems, like hematology and oncology patients, are particularly susceptible to sepsis. Left untreated, sepsis can result in disability or death.
How does sepsis impact children when it happens?
The window for diagnosis and effective intervention in children is very short, from one to four hours. If undetected, sepsis can rapidly escalate to septic shock, causing extensive and irreversible body system damage. Early treatment drastically improves patient outcomes.
- Nearly 7,000 die from sepsis and related complications each year in the U.S.
- 75% of septic patients are admitted to an intensive care unit after a sepsis diagnosis.
- Half of sepsis survivors are readmitted for additional care after surviving sepsis.
- 38% of sepsis survivors will sustain a lifelong disability as a result of sepsis.
What makes it so difficult to diagnose and treat?
Sepsis can affect anyone, anywhere, even outside a hospital. Pediatric experts estimate about 55% of patients develop sepsis before they get to the hospital. Once they arrive, it’s difficult to recognize for many reasons.
- The symptoms, like fever or disorientation, mimic many other common illnesses.
- Few pediatric patients present with the same symptoms. There is no one indicator for sepsis.
- Providers and families may not consider it as a possibility due to lack of awareness.
- No test diagnoses sepsis quickly and with certainty.
- Approaches to identifying and treating sepsis vary.
The role of children’s hospitals in sepsis
Children’s hospitals treat a large percentage of children with sepsis, including emergency department patients, inpatients and patients referred from ambulatory care settings. They also provide specialized care for many children with compromised immune systems, which puts patients at increased risk. It’s critical that children’s hospitals have the right protocols in place to detect the condition early and provide timely treatment.
Children’s hospitals also serve as valuable resources within their communities. By spreading strategies and tools to improve sepsis care with community partnerships, children’s hospitals contribute to improving outcomes for all children.
Sources
- Clinical practice parameters for hemodynamic support of pediatric and neonatal septic shock: 2007 update from the American College of Critical Care Medicine. Crit Care Med 2009.
- Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International guidelines for management of severe sepsis and septic shock: 2008. Crit Care Med 2008.
- Nursing considerations to complement the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines. Crit Care Med 2011; 39.
- Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2013 Sep;14(7):686-93
- Pediatr Crit Care Med 2014; 15:798–805 / Pediatr Crit Care Med 2014; 15:828–838
- AJRCCM SPROUT/PALISI (In Press). 03-March-2015
