2023-09-05 04:35:05
Swedish researchers are sounding the alarm regarding a “largely” underdiagnosed disease that they say might be likened to an epidemic.
In the JAMA Network Open of August 29, Swedish researchers warn regarding “and considerable burden for public health” what is a disease “as common as cancer, with similar long-term negative consequences, and as deadly as an acute myocardial infarction” according to Adam Linder, Principal Investigator and Associate Professor in the Department of Infectious Medicine at Lund University. Together with colleagues from Skåne University Hospital, they found that more than 4% of hospitalizations recorded in this region of southern Sweden, concerned patients suffering from sepsis and that 20% died within 3 months following. To reach these conclusions, they reviewed the medical records of 295,531 patients hospitalized in 2019 and 2020. “Among the survivors of sepsis (another name for sepsis, editor’s note), three-quarters experience long term complications such as heart attack, of the kidney problems and cognitive difficulties” reports Adam Linder. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the incidence increased up to 6% but, even without Covid-19, researchers say sepsis should be considered an epidemic.
Cases too little counted at death
But for that, you need numbers and they are difficult to obtain: “Doctors classify patients using diagnostic codes. Since sepsis is a secondary diagnosis resulting from an infection, it is significantly underdiagnosed, because the primary disease often dictates the diagnostic code. This makes it difficult to find a way to accurately determine the number of sepsis cases.“says Lisa Mellhammar, a sepsis researcher at Lund University and deputy chief medical officer at Skåne University Hospital. The researchers aim touse their publication to influence the European Union to establish a common sepsis surveillance system.
The team is in contact with authorities and researchers from around thirty European countries to obtain funding and pursue research on a larger scale. “Although sepsis care has improved in recent years, we need to improve our diagnostic methods pour identify patients earlier and develop alternative treatment methods beyond antibioticsto avoid the résistance. It is crucial to increase public awareness and decision-makers regarding sepsis so that resources are allocated appropriately,” concludes Adam Linder.
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