World Health Assembly 2016, for visualization purposes

On Wednesday, May 24th, the Global Sepsis Alliance, jointly with the German Ministry of Health and the International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations, will host the ‘WHA Side Event on Sepsis’ in Geneva, on the occasion of the World Health Assembly passing a resolution on sepsis, which was unanimously recommend by the WHO Executive Board. This will be a quantum leap in the fight against sepsis.

Margaret Chan, Director-General of the WHO, and other high-ranking policy makers, supporters, and sepsis survivors will address why the resolution on sepsis is so important in the global fight against sepsis and what our next steps need to be. A free live-stream of the event is available here.

Speakers include WHO representatives, patient advocates, and sepsis experts.

For the full program, including time and location, please click here.

If you would like to attend the event in person, please contact office@world-sepsis-day.org. Due to limited seating, we recommend registering for the free live-stream here.

Please promote this event and the available live-stream among your members, employees, and colleagues.

On April 14th, the New York Times featured an article by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Jim Dwyer, confirming that Rory’s Regulations have saved 4,727 lives in New York State to date.

The article, A Boy’s Life Is Lost to Sepsis. Thousands Are Saved in His Wake, includes newly released figures from the New York State Department of Health which show that the odds of dying from sepsis in New York State have dropped by 21% for those adults who received faster treatment for sepsis, thanks to Rory’s Regulations.

This is a great example how quality improvement measures for early sepsis diagnostics and treatment can save lives and we want to congralute the Rory Staunton Foundation for this great achievement.

The WHO urges you to focus on the fight against antibiotic resistance in the context of hand hygiene and infection prevention and control (IPC) programmes. Please support the "SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands"-Campaign on May 5th, 2017.

Hand hygiene and infection prevention and control more generally are key weapons in the fight against antibiotic resistance and sepsis and campaigning each year on or around 5 May is one important part of improving behaviour towards IPC best practices. This year the campaign materials are all co-branded with ‘Antibiotics, handle with care’ to demonstrate unity between antimicrobial resistance and IPC efforts.

Who needs to take action:

• we want health workers to clean their hands at the right times, building on hand hygiene improvement efforts made up to now;
• we want chief executive officers and managers to support hand hygiene campaigning and infection prevention and control programmes, to protect patients from antibiotic-resistant infections;
• we want IPC leaders to lead hand hygiene campaigning and start their journey of meeting the core components for infection prevention and control;
• we want policy makers to stop antibiotic resistance spread by demonstrating national support and commitment to infection prevention.

Resources and more information for May 5th can be found here.

Today, the Global Sepsis Alliance is happy to welcome Bactiguard as the newest sponsor of World Sepsis Day.

Bactiguard is a Swedish medical device company with a mission to save lives. To achieve this, they provide infection protection solutions that reduce common healthcare associated infections caused by medical devices. Their technology is based on applying an extremely thin layer of noble metals to devices; this prevents bacterial colonization and subsequently reduces the number of infections.

We look forward to a fruitful cooperation!

Sepsis is a medical emergency and thus reliant on timely diagnosis and prompt treatment. In a large quality improvement project, Northwell Health, a multihospital health care provider, implemented a 3-hour sepsis treatment bundle for every patient admitted with signs of sepsis (1). This bundle included early sepsis recognition and treatment with time-sensitive collection of blood cultures, measurement of lactate levels, and administration of IV fluids and antibiotics within the first three hours of treatment to prevent further organ injury. A recent evaluation of this 3-hour-sepsis bundle, which was published in the Journal “Critical Care Medicine”, showed that in three independent, prospective cohorts of nearly 15,000 severe sepsis patients comparing quarterly data on sepsis outcomes from 2014 to 2016, compliance with the 3-hour sepsis bundle was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (2). Above that, lower critical care utilization and length of stay was observed in bundle compliant cases. In two cohorts, compliance to these sepsis bundles was also associated with substantial cost savings. Extrapolating these savings to a US-wide scale with a conservative estimation of 1,000,000 annual sepsis cases, more than $1.5 billion USD could possibly be saved in the United States every year. These results prove quality improvement in sepsis care save lives, hence this project may serve as role model for other health care providers. The GSA congratulates Northwell Health for their successful efforts to fight sepsis and decrease the high number of preventable deaths from this silent global killer.

To read the full research paper, please click here.
 

References:

(1) Doerfler ME, D’Angelo J, Jacobsen D, et al: Methods for reducing sepsis mortality in emergency departments and inpatient units. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2015; 41:205–211

(2) Leisman DE1 Doerfler ME, Ward MF, Masick KD, Wie BJ, Gribben JL, Hamilton E, Klein Z, Bianculli AR, Akerman MB, D'Angelo JK, D'Amore JA. Survival Benefit and Cost Savings From Compliance With a Simplified 3-Hour Sepsis Bundle in a Series of Prospective, Multisite, Observational Cohorts. Crit Care Med. 2017 Mar;45(3):395-406.

Idelette Nutma presented her book Sepsis and afterwards to the Global Sepsis Alliance Executive Board at the World Sepsis Day Supporter Meeting on March 22nd, 2017.

Sepsis is a life threatening illness, resulting in ICU admission for many people. Even without ICU admission, recovery can be a long-term process for those affected. This book wants to spare them the lonely quest for explanations and guidance. Sepsis and afterwards combines important information and stories from personal experience with the latest developments and insights. Physical and mental aspects are highlighted, together with practical tips that can really make a difference. Sepsis and afterwards provides former patients and their relatives with a clear lead, and offers eye-openers to professionals. It is a helpful guide during hospital admission and after discharge. 

Having suffered from a septic shock herself, Idelette Nutma, former nurse, has devoted her energies to improving aftercare and raising awareness of sepsis. In 2012, she published the book ‘Septische shock’ (Septic shock) and launched the website ‘Sepsis en daarna’. Apart from giving information and guidance, as seen from the patient’s perspective, Idelette gives lectures and hosts workshops. Furthermore, she is co-founder of the Dutch website www.opeenicliggen.nl and key member of the Family and Patient Centered Intensive Care Foundation. You can find more information on her website.

We are delighted to welcome Minister Tiefensee as Ambassador of World Sepsis Day. During his visit to the Thuringian Ministry of Economics, Science and Digital Society, Prof. Konrad Reinhart and Minister Tiefensee discussed not only the goals of the World Sepsis Day Movement but also the potential of the many sepsis and infection related research institutions in Jena such as the Center for Sepsis Control and Care, the Centre for Innovation Competence Septomics, the InfectControl 2020 Consortium and the Research Campus InfectoGnostics – all of them aiming at contributing to an increased awareness of sepsis, and improvement of sepsis prevention and the quality of sepsis management. 

Today, the Global Sepsis Alliance launches its newest initiative, GSA Advance.

GSA Advance is a coalition of sepsis supporters around the world with the aim of advancing the mission of the GSA.

GSA Advance includes several platforms, one of which is the Trainees’/Junior Faculty Platform, for which we accept applications starting today. The purpose of this platform is to bring the future generation of sepsis champions to the forefront of GSA activities, broadening their scope and impact.

GSA Advance members will help advocate, represent, and promote the various goals and efforts of the GSA. They will have the opportunity to join the various initiatives of the GSA, contributing to World Sepsis Day, World Sepsis Congress, the activities on social media, fundraising, and much more.

Members will have a unique access to the largest professional sepsis network worldwide and will gather valuable experience. The GSA can also issue a certificate and a letter of recommendation.

Membership is open to everyone who is 5 years or less into their faculty position, or is a student, resident, or fellow. Junior Faculty & Trainees from all backgrounds and disciplines are welcome to participate. Participation is not limited to those with medical backgrounds. There is no compensation for becoming a part of GSA Advance.

For more information and to apply, please click here.

The full invitation letter by Imrana Malik, GSA Advance Coordinator, can be downloaded here. Please feel free to share this post and the letter within your network.