PROFILING OF SEPSIS PATIENTS IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT - A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Sepsis and septic shock are major healthcare problems, impacting millions of people around the world each year killing between one in three and one in six of those it affects[¹].Infection-prevention efforts, including those targeting both community-acquired and health-care-associated infections, can reduce sepsis incidence. It is treatable, and timely implementation of targeted interventions improves outcomes.There are various scoring system like Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), Modified Early Warning Score(MEWS), Rapid Emergency Medicine Score, APACHE II in early identification of sepsis. But in a resource limited setting, there is a need of early identification and initiation of treatment. Hence there is a need for clinical bedside scoring system to identify patients at risk for improving the outcomes as early administration of appropriate antimicrobials is one of the most effective interventions to reduce mortality in patients with sepsis.This retrospective study involved total of 305 patients who were admitted to Multidisciplinary ICU or High Dependence Unit from Emergency room for a period of 6 months. Of which 105 patients were suspected to have sepsis or identified in shock. The most common comorbid medical condition was found to be diabetes mellitus and respiratory symptoms accounted for majority of the cases.Timing of antibiotic in patients with suspected sepsis and patients with septic shock mean time of which was found to be 61 minutes and 53 minutes respectively which is compliant with the current recommendations.