Antimicrobial Stewardship, Resistance and Emerging Pathogens
Concurrent Education Session - 60 minutes
Wava Truscott, BS, MBA, PhD
Dr./ President
Truscott MedSci Associates, LLC
Roswell, Georgia
Nothing to disclose
Linda Dickey, RN, MPH, CIC, FAPIC
Sr. Director Quality, Pt. Safety & Infection Prevention
UCI Health
Laguna Niguel, California
In the U.S., there are more than 1.6 million cases of sepsis annually resulting in over 250,000 deaths; sepsis is the cause of 1 of 3 deaths in U.S. hospitals. Globally, sepsis affects more than 26 million people each year and is the largest killer of children worldwide. Although many survivors recover completely after weeks or months of recuperation, others suffer from life-long organ damage, limb loss, and/or cognitive damage. No matter how you measure it, sepsis is a medical emergency where every minute counts.
In the current atmosphere of tightly controlled antibiotic stewardship, it is often difficult to decide whether antibiotics should be prescribed for a case of possible sepsis. New rapid diagnostics are now informing those decisions, as is the recognition that error on the side of sepsis prevention is an overriding determinant.
This session will use case studies to explore the causes of sepsis, identify patients at greatest risk, and delve into its pathological course. Participants will explore the sterile systemic inflammatory conditions that mimic infectious sepsis, identify causes, describe the pathological progression, and list several recommendations for prevention. Highlights of specific actions shown to impact patient outcomes will be described along with the actions of hospital sepsis programs that have been successfully implemented. Updated information from the CDC, WHO, and the FDA will be noted.