United States – Suppose a person is fortunate enough to live through a battle with the bloodstream infection sepsis. In that case, chances of being readmitted to the hospital due to a similar episode within a month are still high, new statistics reveal, as reported by HealthDay.
A study of more than 7,100 patients with sepsis showed that nearly a quarter(23.6%) of them were readmitted to a hospital within 30 days of being discharged to their homes.
Challenges in Post-Discharge Care
It is reported that most readmissions happened in the patients “well enough for them to be discharged home or to home health care,” The co-author of the work was Priscilla Hartley, an assistant professor at Augusta University’s College of Nursing in Georgia.
However, many of these patients got ‘ another episode of sepsis or another infection,’ meaning they were readmitted for further treatment, she noted in a news release from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).
“We must find ways to close the gap between hospitals and all discharge settings if we wish to continue to improve the odds of surviving sepsis,” Hartley said in an AACN news release.
Severe and Deadly Bloodstream Infection
The NIH defines sepsis as a type of blood infection that occurs in individuals who already have another underlying condition like pneumonia or a urinary tract infection.
Sepsis can develop quickly and soon be out of control: NIH states that every fifth patient who has sepsis dies.
According to the NIH, severe sepsis and septic shock affect about 1 million Americans; at least 200,000 of these patients die in the hospital shortly after.
Study Findings
The new study followed 7,107 30-day outcomes of U. S. adults who received sepsis treatment at a Boston hospital from 2008 to 2019. All the patients were discharged home following the encounter; some had home health care if required.
As per the structural theme that emerged from Hartley’s team, it was 23.6% (1,674 patients) were readmitted within a month into the same hospital.
Recurrent sepsis was identified in over two-thirds (68. 3%) of re-admitted patients receiving previous sepsis, and more than 30% of the re-admitted patients experienced sepsis up to three times due to recurrent infection.
More often, patients were supposedly transitioned from hospital to “unsuitable environments,” according to Hartley and colleagues, thus increasing the potential for a new round of infection, as reported by HealthDay.
Closing the Gap in Sepsis Recovery
Still more needs to be done to identify those patients who are at the highest risk, highlighted in the research.
“Identifying the patients at highest risk of readmission can facilitate discharge to the appropriate setting to continue their recovery and guide interventions and follow-up,” the AACN news release noted.
Prevent Infections
Good Hygiene: Wash your hands with Soap for at least 20 seconds and those either not able to get soap should use an alcohol-based hand rub.
Wound Care: This means one must ensure that wounds are cleaned properly and dressed as the infection can spread rapidly. Any deep injuries or wounds that show signs of infection should be treated by a doctor.
Infection Control: Strict adherence to infection control standards especially in areas where there is interaction with patient like using sterile procedures and hand washing.
Infection Prevention: Make specific that healthcare workers strictly stick to measures aimed at preventing spread of infections especially when handling patient’s catheters or performing surgery.
Monitor for Complications: It is also important to keep patient who undergo medical treatments or operations on close observation for signs of infection or sepsis.