Help on sepsis

Dr. Jim O'Brien, Assistant Director, Medical Intensive Care Unit at the Center for Critical Care at Ohio State University Medical Center, writes with this news and a request:

I sit on the Board of Sepsis Alliance. Our data suggests that only 1 in 3 Americans has heard the word “sepsis” and because of a lack of an organized approach to sepsis care – that is, care consistent with the Global Sepsis Alliance proclamation at the Merinoff Symposium (“recognize sepsis as a medical emergency requiring the administration of fluids and antibiotics within one hour of suspicion”) -- as many as 50% of septic patients die needlessly. That is approximately 100,000 deaths/year in the US alone.

If you have a chance, check out our website and the video we created. We would love any thoughts/ideas you have. This is a disease whose natural history could be changed within the next five years – with therapies we already have.