Today, we are excited to launch the World Sepsis Day Photo Challenge 2.0 – in addition to our existing (and amazing) photo boards, you can now dance, run, cycle, and more to raise awareness for sepsis and World Sepsis Day.

Just download the material from the WSD Toolkit Section and join the global movement now.

As always, we are interested in your feedback. What do you like? And, more importantly, what could be improved? Are you missing a particular photo challenge or have an idea for another one? Contact us.

Applications for the Nursing Platform of GSA Advance have been extended to August 15. Applications for the Pediatrics Platform still close next week, on July 15, 2021.

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GSA Advance is a multidisciplinary coalition of motivated and engaged sepsis supporters from all around the world, coming together to advance the mission of the GSA with their intellect, ability, and enthusiasm.

Starting immediately, both the Nursing and Pediatrics platforms are accepting applications – if you have a background in either and want to become involved, please apply below.

Membership benefits include:

1. Access to the vast network of GSA supporters

2. Sharing your input regarding sepsis with GSA

3. Working on GSA projects/programs

4. Becoming a Representative within one of GSA’s Committees

5. GSA Advance Program membership does not have any term limits

GSA Advance is open to applicants from wherever you are, and applications close on July 15 for the Pediatrics Platform and on Aug 15 for the Nursing Platform.

For this year’s upcoming World Sepsis Day, we are thrilled to offer a 13% discount on every order above 20€ in the WSD Online Shop - simply enter the code ‘SEPTEMBER13’ at checkout.

In addition, get a free face mask with every order above 50€. Both discounts end August 31st, 2021.

The WSD Online Shop offers everything you need to make your World Sepsis Day Event super special – t-shirts, sports jerseys, hoodies, pens, balloons, masks, lanyards, stickers, and much more…

What are you waiting for?

The 10th World Sepsis Day is less than 3 months away! We have collected some ideas and inspiration for you to host the perfect WSD event on September 13th on the World Sepsis Day website…

Today a consensus paper by ESICM, SCCM, and the GSA was published in Intensive Care Medicine, emphasizing the importance of recognizing that patients critically ill with COVID-19 have viral sepsis, despite some differences from sepsis caused by other pathogens.

“Sepsis should become a widely used umbrella term for a condition that is caused by different pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2”, says Tex Kissoon, GSA President.  “This pandemic has shown us the effectiveness of international and horizontal cooperation between healthcare professionals and policymakers. We must keep the focus on infection prevention measures and use the successful trial platforms set up during the pandemic to support research on sepsis. Above all governments should integrate sepsis in the national health systems, as urged by the WHA resolution of 2017“, concludes Kissoon.

The three organizations also warn that patients who survive other forms of sepsis suffer longer-term ill-effects similar to those of patients with “long-COVID”, although they are not equally well recognized. Scientific literature demonstrates that longer-term effects of sepsis, known as post-sepsis syndrome, occur in up to 50% of sepsis survivors, who suffer from persisting physical, cognitive, and psychological sequelae.

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What Is Sepsis?

Sepsis arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. It may lead to shock, multi-organ failure, and death – especially if not recognized early and treated promptly. Sepsis is the final common pathway to death from most infectious diseases worldwide, including viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19.

The following video explains sepsis in 3 minutes - including the most common causes, symptoms, how it can be diagnosed and treated, and more.

Sessions 14 and 15 from the World Sepsis Congress 2021 are now available on YouTube (embedded above) and as a Podcast on Apple Podcasts (just search for World Sepsis Congress in your favorite podcast app).

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Session 14 was chaired by our very own Luis Antonio Gorordo Del Sol and features the following participants:

• Why and How the Phenotype Matters – Chris Seymour, University of Pittsburgh, USA

• Janus Kinase Inhibition in Severe COVID-19 – Andre Kalil, University of Nebraska, USA

• Anti C5a in Severe COVID-19 and Sepsis – Diederik van de Beek, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

• Anti-Complement Therapy Against COVID-19 – Courtney Campbell, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, USA

• Biomarker Guided Immunomodulatory Therapy in COVID-19 – Evangelos Giamarellos, European Sepsis Alliance, Greece

• Biomarkers for the Assessment of ADM Targeted Treatments – Peter Pickkers, Radboud University Medical Center, The Netherlands

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Session 15 was moderated by Maha Aljuaid, Member of the GSA Executive, and features the following presentations:

• Surviving Sepsis Campaign and Efforts to Incorporate Input From LMICs – Laura Evans, University of Washington, USA

• The Role of the WHO in Developing the COVID-19 Living Guideline – Janet Diaz, World Health Organization, Switzerland

• Cardiovascular Management in Children in Sepsis Depends on Context – Suchitra Ranjit, Apollo Hospitals, India

• Fluid Resuscitation in Adults: Different Settings, Different Strategies? – Shevin Jacob, African Research Collaboration on Sepsis, Uganda

• Antibiotics in the First Hour: For Everyone Everywhere? – Fernando Zampieri, Hospital for the Heart, Brazil

• The ARCS Delphi Study on Quality Indicators for Sepsis in LMICs – Emmanuel Nsutebu, African Sepsis Alliance, United Arab Emirates

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This concludes World Sepsis Congress 2021 - all sessions and talks are now available to rewatch on YouTube and Apple Podcasts. Thanks for your interest and support over the last weeks. World Sepsis Congress will return in 2022.

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World Sepsis Congress 2021 is a project by the Global Sepsis Alliance, initiator of World Sepsis Day and World Sepsis Congress.

Our friends from the German Sepsis Foundation (Sepsis-Stiftung) are hosting their first annual Sepsis-Forum next week, on June 22, 2021 - and you are invited!

Over the course of 4.5 hours, 2 sessions, 2 panel debates, and a Q&A session, experts from the health sector and sepsis survivors will discuss long-term consequences of sepsis and COVID-19 as well as the challenges for affected individuals, the scientific community, and the health care system itself.

The event is entirely virtual, free of charge, and in German. A short registration on the event website is required.

Thank you so much for participating in the World Sepsis Congress 2021. It was a tremendous success, thanks to you.

We had 19,230 registrations from 181 countries, which is very inspiring. Even more important to us is that 71 % of our audience joined from low- and middle-income countries - many of those would have never been able to afford to travel to a physical congress, let alone COVID making this impossible anyway. This truly emphasizes our mission with World Sepsis Congress – to bring knowledge about sepsis to all parts of the world.

We are also thrilled with your feedback - it was off the charts! You can click through the full report above and download it as a PDF below. Feel free to share this report with interested colleagues or friends.

Session 1 through 13 of the WSC 2021 are already available on YouTube and as a Podcast on Apple Podcasts, with sessions 14 and 15 being released tomorrow. Thanks for your interest over the last weeks – World Sepsis Congress will return in April 2022.