In 2012, Rory Staunton, a 12-year-old from New York City, tragically died after developing sepsis from a seemingly innocent scrape to his arm during basketball practice. Many believe his death could have been prevented if his case of sepsis had been recognized and treated earlier.

His parents, Orlaith and Ciaran Staunton, turned their grief into action, founding the Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention. 

In 2013, New York State issued a statewide mandate for all hospitals to develop protocols for sepsis recognition and treatment, dubbed ‘Rory’s Regulations’.

In April 2017, the New York Times featured an article with data from the New York State Department of Health, saying that Rory’s Regulations have saved close to 5,000 New Yorkers so far. However, this analysis looked at adult patients with sepsis.

Now, researchers have analyzed how children with sepsis fared in hospitals in New York State. The study, published this Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), found that children who had received recommended treatment within 60 minutes were more likely to survive the medical emergency known as sepsis. According to the study, which included 1,200 New York State children, completion of the sepsis protocol within one hour was associated with nearly one-third lower risk of death. The effect of completing any given part of the protocol within an hour – for example, giving fluids but not testing for infection or giving antibiotics – did not significantly change the risk of death, the researchers noted, suggesting the greatest benefit comes from accomplishing the entire bundle quickly.

The study has its limitations. In particular, sepsis had to be recognized to even get into the dataset – although recognition of sepsis in the first place might be more important than the rapid treatment of sepsis when it is recognized. It’s also possible that the patients who were treated faster were already more likely to survive - maybe that’s what it made it easier for doctors and nurses to diagnose their sepsis earlier.

Nevertheless, this study is incredibly encouraging. It adds to a growing number of studies finding that early sepsis treatment is beneficial, and importantly extends these findings to children. It is widely accepted that rapid sepsis recognition and treatment saves lives, and after all, no child should die from a treatable infection.

Learn More about Sepsis

On September 10th and 11th, the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, in partnership with OSF Healthcare, the University of Chicago Medicine, the Illinois Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute, and the Carle Foundation, are hosting the Interdisciplinary Sepsis Symposium.

Sepsis is the leading cause of death in hospitals in the United States, the leading cause of readmission, and the most expensive hospital condition. More people die from sepsis every year than deaths due to prostate cancer, breast cancer, and HIV all combined together.

This symposium focuses on bringing many sepsis researchers from different disciplines together with funding government agencies, government leaders, and funding foundations. The goals are

1. To provide the audience with a one stop shop to learn about the latest sepsis research, government initiatives, and funding opportunities
2. To enable sepsis experts and government agencies/funding foundations to start to develop a plan to innovatively improve sepsis care over the next two decades.

Three of the top five sepsis researchers in the entire world are giving keynote talks (Jean-Louis Vincent, Derek Angus, and Richard Hotchkiss). 18 other sepsis speakers from six different areas will also be giving talks – clinical, big data, novel devices, immunology, education/training, and biomarkers. In addition representatives from CMS, the CDC, BARDA, NIGMS, NIAID, NHLBI, and various funding foundations will be attending.
 

On October 4th, 2018, the African Sepsis Alliance will hold the 2nd African Sepsis Symposium in Diani, Kenya, in collaboration with the African Federation of Critical Care Nurses and the Global Sepsis Alliance. The African Sepsis Alliance is a collaboration of over 15 African countries and international professional bodies working together to prevent sepsis and improve care in Africa. Everybody in Africa has a right to survive sepsis and we provide leadership to reduce mortality and suffering for sepsis in Africa. Africa bears a disproportionate burden of preventable deaths from sepsis globally.

Over 400 local and international experts, healthcare workers, and policy makers are expected to attend the symposium in Diani. Participants will review and discuss sepsis prevention, recognition, and management efforts in Africa. This years’ multidisciplinary symposium will focus on paediatric sepsis, antimicrobial resistance, and stewardship. The Kenya Sepsis Alliance will also be launched at the event. The exciting conference program can be found below. If you would like to attend or join our growing list of prestigious sponsors for the symposium, please contact Wangari Siika, Chair of the local organizing committee, or Emmanuel Nsutebu, Chair of the African Sepsis Alliance. Please join us and help make a difference in Africa!

I gave birth to our daughter in Sept 2014. Apart from the usual challenges of a new baby, everything was going well. Our little family of three was living life to the fullest and life was good. Then, ten months later, in July 2015, our world turned upside down. I had been suffering a recurring sore throat for months. I thought I was just run down being a new mum and didn’t think much of it. Little did I know a storm was brewing inside me.

In the early hours of July 12th, 2015, I was settling our daughter after she’d woken. As I left her room I banged my elbow quite hard but gave it a rub and went back to bed. An hour or so later, I awoke to golf ball size swelling on my elbow and extreme pain but no wound. Within two hours I was shivering uncontrollably and rocking back and forth screaming for my husband to take me to hospital. It was very early on a Sunday morning and my husband was barely awake as he got our ten-month-old daughter ready and helped me dress. I felt sicker than I’d ever felt before. We only lived a few kilometers from our local hospital. As we drove there I remember saying to my husband “I know this sounds silly but even though we’re close to the hospital, I feel like I should be in an ambulance”.

I spent about twelve hours in the emergency department with staff checking me for a dislocated elbow and various other things. It felt like no one knew what was wrong. I experienced many puzzled looks and pondering stares from the doctors. After a few hours with the redness around the swelling growing, I was given IV antibiotics. After more recently reviewing my records I can see they were not broad-spectrum (broad-spectrum antibiotics are usually administered in sepsis cases when the herd of the infection is still unclear). My heart rate kept increasing and my blood pressure was dropping – both signs of sepsis, as I learned only afterwards. After about four hours, I was given an ECG. Afterwards the doctor asked, “did you have a bad heart as a child?”. I explained that I had been generally healthy my whole life. Shortly after this I was reviewed again and my IV antibiotics were then changed to a different kind which I believe were broad spectrum. Mid-afternoon an orthopedic surgeon came to review me. He drew some fluid from my elbow and advised it was bursitis with an infection present that needed to be “washed out” in surgery the following day. I was told to wait in the emergency room while they found a bed for me in a ward. I remember feeling distressed throughout the day, but my anxiety was somewhat subdued by the strong pain relief I had been given. After reassuring my husband I would be okay, he and our daughter left late that afternoon. My heart rate continued to be above 130bpm, I was still experiencing rigors and my blood pressure progressively continued to drop. At about 6pm, I was checked by someone from ICU who gave me the all clear to be sent to the ward with a note for my blood pressure to continue to be monitored. At this point, my anxiety was heightened again. I just felt a sense of dread and fear but not wanting to be difficult or create a fuss I said nothing. I ate dinner in the emergency department before being moved to the ward around 7pm.

Upon arrival in the ward my blood pressure was routinely checked. It had hit 60/40. The nurse advised she needed to call a team from ICU as I was in septic shock. That nurse named Monique saved my life. I haven’t seen her again since but will never forget her.

While I was prepped for emergency surgery, a phone was put to my ear and I was asked to quickly speak to my husband. I can’t remember what I said but my husband tells me I seemed very calm given he’d just been told by one of the doctors I was in ICU and about to have emergency surgery. Apparently, I reassured him and said to stay home with our daughter and to visit me in the morning. I then signed forms to agree to the surgery. Shortly after that, I remember the ICU team explaining that I was very, very sick and this was very serious. It then hit me: I might not even wake up from the surgery. I began to panic but then a sudden calm came over me. I told myself there’s nothing I can do. If I wake up I am going to fight and will make it. I surrendered and let the ICU team do what they could to save me.

I woke up in the early hours of the following morning on a ventilator. I moaned screams and was breathing around the tube begging for it to be taken out. I knew I was alive and I was ready to continue my fight.

I spent three days in the ICU on broad-spectrum antibiotics. After a brief scare of possible necrotizing fasciitis (that was thankfully just cellulitis), it was confirmed on the third day that my infection was Group A Streptococcus. My antibiotics were then more targeted, and I spent a further three days in high dependency (that included a diagnosis of hospital-acquired pneumonia) and then several more days in a ward.

I was discharged from the hospital with a letter for my GP for follow-up. The main focus of this follow-up was to have a chest x-ray three months post my pneumonia diagnosis. That was it. I had been reviewed. My infected arm was healing. I might feel a bit run down after suffering pneumonia but essentially, I just needed to finish my course of oral antibiotics and life should get back to normal, right?

It took me three months to feel remotely normal. My initial side effects were memory loss and brain fog, weakened immune system, fever and chills (I felt like I had a broken thermostat). My biggest challenge was explaining to family, friends and colleagues how an “infected arm” was causing so many other issues. I felt guilty that I couldn’t return to work sooner and in the end, I probably went back too quickly. My suffering was invisible, and I felt I had nowhere to turn for support.

After a few months I was feeling terribly lost and alone. Why wasn’t I feeling better? What’s wrong with my brain? Why can’t I remember the name of things or what I was doing two minutes ago? Why is my hair falling out in parts? Why am I so exhausted? Why am I terrified that it will all happen again or someone I care about will get as sick as l did? I had been doing a good job putting on a brave face, but I needed to do something as I didn’t know how much more I could take. I needed answers. I decided to read my discharge notes to look for clues. There, staring at me in the first sentence were those two words that Monique the nurse had uttered before she called ICU; septic shock. I had no idea what that was or what it meant. It certainly wasn’t explained to me in hospital or by my GP. When I researched septic shock, I discovered the word sepsis. It was the first time I had ever heard that term. Reading about sepsis and septic shock and post-sepsis syndrome I suddenly realized how sick I had been and why I was still feeling like I did. I’m so grateful for the websites provided by the GSA, the Sepsis Alliance, and the UK Sepsis Trust. They saved me from a dark lonely place and helped guide me towards the beginning of my journey to become an advocate for sepsis.

Eventually I discovered the website of the Australian Sepsis Network and made contact. They are doing an excellent job being a voice for sepsis in Australia and have been a great resource and support for me. I also joined many of the sepsis support groups on Facebook which have also been a wonderful support that I know I can turn to any time of day. Inspired by these groups, in January 2017, I created the Australia and New Zealand Sepsis Support Group. I’m also very active on Twitter. Later in 2017, I was invited by the Australian Sepsis Network to participate in their inaugural round table as a consumer representative. I’m very proud of everyone that participated and contributed to the report, Stopping Sepsis: A National Action Plan. I’m waiting with hope and anticipation that the Australian Government will adopt the recommendations of this report which will see much needed improvements to ease the health and economic burden of sepsis in our country.

Going forward, my hope is to see countries around the world adopt the recommendations from the May 2017 World Health Organization Resolution on Sepsis. It is imperative that sepsis protocols are mandated across healthcare systems to ensure rapid detection and treatment of sepsis. I hope to see improved education and awareness amongst both healthcare professionals and the general public. I’d also like to see improved support for those that experience sepsis and their families – both while in hospital and post sepsis.

Three years on from my experience with septic shock I still suffer from cognitive issues and anxiety. It’s hard on my husband who is a constant support – particularly when I find it hard to cope when our daughter or others I care about get sick. He is patient when I’m constantly checking temperatures or heart rates. My family, friends, and colleagues are regularly reminded of the importance of sepsis awareness and know how passionate I am about it. I’m grateful to them for their patience but mostly for their support. Every opportunity I have to create sepsis awareness could be an opportunity to save a life.

Through my involvement with sepsis advocacy I have met many wonderful people yet heard many heart-breaking stories. The ones I particularly cannot accept are the lives lost or lasting disabilities survivors are left with, especially when it has happened to children. Hearing these stories and knowing there is still much work to be done to improve the outcomes for sepsis fuels a fire in my belly that I don’t think will ever go out. I get involved wherever I can to help create awareness and hope to do so much more. As much as I regret my experience with sepsis, I believe it happened for a reason. I now have an obligation to fight sepsis for others, and I will, just as I fought for myself.

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The article above was written by Fiona Gray and is shared here with her explicit consent. The views in the article do not necessarily represent those of the Global Sepsis Alliance. They are not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The whole team here at the GSA & World Sepsis Day wishes to thank Fiona and her family for sharing her story and for fighting to raise awareness of sepsis.

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To help us avoid similar stories in the future, please consider donating to support our cause. Thank you.

On September 5th and 6th, the Global Sepsis Alliance, initiator of World Sepsis Day and World Sepsis Congress, will host the 2nd World Sepsis Congress. The 2nd WSC is a free online congress in which over 100 renowned experts from all around the world will give presentations on all aspects of sepsis, fostering our aspiration to bring knowledge about sepsis to all parts of the world. The congress will be held in English and is open to everyone with an internet connection.

On September 27th, the 'International Sepsis Symposium' will be held in Glasgow, Scotland. An incredible line-up of sepsis experts from around the world will give short, punchy talks on a variety of sepsis topics, to aid the practicing clinician. Many of these great speakers will speak at our very own 2nd World Sepsis Congress on September 5th and 6th as well. 

£10 from every ticket sale is being donated to our friends from the African Sepsis Alliance - a huge thanks to the organizers for recognizing the urgency to fight sepsis in Africa and supporting them directly. Further, 6 CPD points have been applied for from The Royal College of Physicians.

Our video 'What Is Sepsis? (sepsis explained in 3 minutes)' is now available in Spanish, easily explaining what sepsis is, and how to identify and treat it. Please share it with your loved ones - especially your Spanish speaking friends - it could save their lives!
A special thanks to everybody who helped translating this video - more languages will follow over the course of the summer.
The original English version and our new Italian version are embedded below as well.

To share these videos, please use these links:

Spanish: https://youtu.be/1-pW9BpBQLM
Spanish: http://bit.ly/SepsisExplainedSpanish

English: https://youtu.be/AEGUCpxwAlE
English: http://bit.ly/SepsisExplained

Italian: https://youtu.be/dEL__o6WJTI
Italian: http://bit.ly/SepsisExplainedItalian

If you are interested in the file, for example for offline playback at a local event, please get in touch. 

The Global Sepsis Awards, which are sponsored by the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation, honor outstanding efforts to increase sepsis awareness and raise the quality of sepsis prevention and management. The awards are granted in three categories, namely governments and healthcare authorities, non-governmental organizations, patient advocate or healthcare provider groups, and individuals, consistent with the aims of the World Sepsis Declaration and the World Sepsis Day Movement.

WINNERS CATEGORY I - GOVERNMENTS AND HEALTHCARE AUTHORITIES

The winners in category I are the Ministry of Health from Saudi Arabia and the Centers of Diseases Control and Prevention from the United States.

The Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia is awarded for its efforts to improve sepsis care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by a national strategy following the requests set out in the WHO/WHA Resolution: “Improving the Prevention, Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Sepsis”. These efforts included:

• Conduct of multiple workshops and meetings to identify the problem and increase awareness among healthcare workers.

• Introduction of sepsis bundles as quality indicators into the ministries of health clinical audit program.

• Integration of sepsis key performance indicators as part of the hospital performance measures.

• Development of an extensive report with external advice to document and guide the process

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US) are awarded for their outstanding programs and activities which were developed over the last four years in collaboration with patient advocate groups and sepsis experts from U.S. These efforts resulted in:

• Epidemiologic studies that improved the understanding of the true medical, human and financial burden of sepsis in the US. The results are used by the US Department of Health to develop and undertake respective action in the context of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) program designed to save lives and protect Americans.

• The development and provision of excellent educational materials on the CDC website for lay people and health care workers to raise awareness of the early signs of sepsis and inform about the sepsis aftermaths

• The development of a toolkit which can be used to plan and conduct successful quality improvement initiatives on sepsis recognition and management in US hospitals

Winners Category II - Non-governmental organizations, patient advocate groups or healthcare provider groups

The winners in category II are the Sepsis Alliance and the Fundación Sepsis México!

The Sepsis Alliance is the leading non-governmental organization on sepsis operating in the United States today. The SA was founded in 2007 by Dr. Carl Flatley after the tragic and unnecessary loss of his 23-year old daughter Erin from sepsis. The SA  is an unceasing and committed leader in the fight to put sepsis in the spotlight and raise public awareness as well as citizen concern under the motto “So more survive”. The numerous initiatives included the following outstanding activities:

• Being part of the visionary team that put forward the successful blueprint for a Global Sepsis Alliance in 2010

• Launch of the first Sepsis Awareness Month in 2011 and creation of the national Sepsis Heroes program and gala in 2012

• Collaborative work across borders with government agencies, healthcare providers, other advocacy groups, patient groups, survivors, and their loved ones

The Fundación Sepsis México under the leadership of Luis Antonio Gorordo Delsol became the driving force for the World Sepsis Day Movement in Mexico and Central America. This is evidenced by activities such as:

• The translation and dissemination of World Sepsis Day promotional materials and infographics into Spanish

• Fundación Sepsis México also facilitated the dialogue and cooperation between the national medical professional societies whose involvement and collaboration is key to foster the quality of sepsis management in Mexico

• Since 2016, the chair of the Fundación Sepsis México collaborated with Mexican Health authorities and the Global Sepsis Alliance in the development of the improved version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD – 11 draft) of the WHO to ensure that sepsis is adequately diagnosed

Winners Category III - Individual Nominees

The winners in category III are Dr. Alison Fox-Robichaud from Canada, Dr. Stephen Macdonald from Australia, and Team Sue from the United States.

Dr. Fox-Robichaud was awarded for the following achievements:

Leading the development and the implementation of the “Sepsis Module” which is an interprofessional and simulation-based training initiative geared towards increasing the capacity of healthcare teams in Hamilton (Canada) to manage sepsis from multiple vantages

• Guiding the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Hamilton Early Warning Score (HEWS) over the past 8 years. This digital real-time monitoring system detects early signs of sepsis or diminishing health and alerts the patient's care team so that they can quickly intervene

• Heading the Team Sepsis: Bench to Bedside, a strategic initiative at Hamilton Health Sciences which takes laboratory techniques and integrates them into routine clinical care

Dr. Macdonald was awarded for the following activities:

• His engagement as specialist emergency physician in the context of a National Sepsis Forum hosted by the Australian Sepsis Network and the George Institute for Global Health aimed to raise community/professional awareness of sepsis and harmonize clinical and research priorities across Australia. This exercise resulted in a health policy report entitled Stopping Sepsis: A National Action Plan

• His leading role in designing and conducting landmark clinical trials which have improved our understanding of the place of fluids and vasopressors in sepsis

Team Sue was awarded for the following activities:

• Sue is a sepsis survivor. Sue has shown unwavering courage, determination, and resilience in the face of catastrophic injuries from her illness.

• She has mentored other amputees, participated in adventure activities to raise sepsis and limb loss awareness, such as skydiving

• Team Sue has shared their story at hospitals and healthcare systems in Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Nevada, New Jersey, and Arizona as it seeks to raise sepsis awareness and educate people on this devastating illness

• Team Sue has published all activities in the fight against sepsis on their own homepage

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Congratulations to all 2018 GSA Award Winners!
All awardees will receive their trophy at an upcoming international congress. Winners in category II and III will receive $2,500 prize money each. A huge thanks to everybody who applied.
Applications and nominations for the 2019 GSA Award open in January 2019 and close on March 31st, 2019.