Sepsis

Inpatient Units

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Inpatient Units

Prompt recognition and timely management of patients with sepsis in hospital is critical. Evidence suggests delayed treatment is associated with higher mortality rates, significant morbidity, and high costs to the health care system.1,2 Patients experiencing sepsis often need intensive care and have in-hospital stays nine days longer than an average patient.3 In BC hospitals, preventable delays in recognizing and managing sepsis in hospitalized patients can occur due to many different factors.

Inpatient Sepsis Toolkit

This Toolkit aims to provide BC inpatient hospital wards with information, resources, and tools to successfully initiate, implement, and spread best practices for sepsis in adult populations across BC. There are three key components to recognizing and responding to sepsis for inpatients:

  1. Timely recognition of early infection.
  2. Early treatment with antibiotics and intravenous fluids.
  3. Appropriate escalation to high-acuity or ICU care.

This Toolkit is designed for multidisciplinary teams and clinical leaders working on inpatient wards who want to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of sepsis early and treat it effectively.

While knowledge of quality improvement science is helpful when undertaking any change, the toolkit was developed for those without formal training in quality improvement or change management techniques.

Access the Inpatient Sepsis Toolkit

References

  1. Singer M, Deutschman CS, Seymour C, et al. The third international consensus definitions for sepsis and septic shock (sepsis-3). JAMA. 2016 Feb 23;315(8):801–10.
  2. Dellinger RP, Levy MM, Rhodes A, Annane D, Gerlach H, Opal SM, et al. Surviving sepsis campaign: international guidelines for management of severe sepsis and septic shock: 2012. Crit Care Med. 2013 Feb;41(2):580–637.
  3. Canadian Institute for Health Information. In Focus: a national Look at Sepsis [Internet]. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for Health Information; 2009 [cited 2016 Feb 23]. Available from: http://epe.lac-bac. gc.ca/100/200/301/cihi-icis/in_focus_national_look_sepsis-e/H118-60-2009E.pdf

Key Contact

Sybil Hoiss
Leader, Strategic Initiatives
shoiss@bcpsqc.ca
778.363.9165