Sepsis Burden in Europe’s Largest Countries: Hospital-Acquired Cases and Late Diagnosis Impact

OBJECTIVES: Sepsis is a serious and life-threatening condition that necessitates immediate intervention. The aim of this research was to quantify the epidemiological and economic impact of sepsis in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and the UK. Additionally, two sub-objectives were identified:

• To quantify the burden of hospital-acquired sepsis, which could be partially mitigated through effective infection prevention strategies. Some major causes of hospital-acquired sepsis are catheter-associated infections (urinary or central line bloodstream infections), ventilator-associate pneumonia, and surgical site infections.
• To assess the impact of delayed diagnosis, which can lead to poorer patient outcomes. It has been well demonstrated that for every hour of delayed treatment the risk of death considerably increases.

METHODS: Epidemiological data on incidence and mortality were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease Study, 1990-2017. Additional literature research was conducted to obtain country-specific costs and the prevalence of hospital-acquired sepsis and late diagnosis risks. The epidemiological and economic burdens for each individual country were calculated and then aggregated.

RESULTS: In the five countries analyzed, there are 550,730 cases of sepsis every year, leading to more than 84,000 deaths, causing an additional 5.6 million patient bed-days, and costing €11,646 million. Of all the yearly sepsis cases, 24% are acquired in hospitals, leading to more than 45,400 deaths, and costing more than €2,748 million. Another significant portion (14%) of the sepsis cases receive a late diagnosis, increasing the risk of death (more than 21,900 cases/year).

CONCLUSIONS: Sepsis not only jeopardizes patient outcomes, but it also places significant capacity and cost pressures on hospitals. Strategies to minimize the risk of developing sepsis during hospitalization and to expedite accurate diagnosis can play a crucial role in reducing the overall burden of sepsis from both epidemiological and economic perspectives.