The Impact of Early Identification and a Critical Care–Based Sepsis Response Team on Sepsis Outcomes

Sepsis affects 750 000 hospitalized patients in the United States every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.¹  In addition, a survey of California hospitals by Kaiser Permanente found that sepsis was a factor in approximately 44% to 55% of hospital deaths between 2010 and 2012.¹  From 1997 to 2005, the cost to the US health care system for pneumonia and sepsis grew twice as fast as the overall growth in hospital charges. By 2005 the cost for pneumonia and sepsis totaled $54 billion per year, an increase of approximately 180% from the 1997 cost.^2,3 

Sepsis has been gaining national attention for various reasons. The substantial mortality rate, length of stay, and readmission rate are obvious patient factors contributing to this attention. The heightened awareness also reflects a financial motivation driven by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regulations requiring hospitals to...