By: Sruthy Iype  Nov. 30, 2020

As per the recommendations proposed at The Third International Consensus conference convened by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection and Septic shock is a subset of sepsis characterized by acute circulatory failure and cellular metabolism abnormalities with a substantially higher risk of mortality. Early detection and individualised management strategies enabled by improved diagnostic techniques is crucial to improving the survival rate of sepsis patients and alleviating the burden posed by the condition.

Edwards ClearSight System is one such non-invasive haemodynamic monitoring system that has the potential to improve Sepsis management and outcomes. Apart from continuous blood pressure monitoring, it also provides advanced haemodynamic parameters including Cardiac Output, Stroke Volume, Stroke Volume Variation, Systemic Vascular Resistance and Mean Arterial Pressure. The comprehensive haemodynamic information and insights provided by the EV1000 clinical platform assists healthcare professionals to effectively evaluate the patient’s haemodynamic stability, and make appropriate volume management decisions in accordance with the changing clinical situation. Further, the non-invasive finger cuff technology allows continuous monitoring even in patients without an arterial line.

To assess the need for better care and treatment strategies in the management of Severe Sepsis (R6520- Severe sepsis without septic shock) and Septic Shock (R6521- Severe sepsis with septic shock), Dexur analyzed Medicare inpatient claims of five major Florida hospitals between April 2017 and March 2020.

While a mortality rate of 4 to 7% was observed for Severe Sepsis, a significantly higher mortality rate ranging between 28 to 38% was seen in patients diagnosed with Septic shock. The length of stay observed for Septic shock hospitalizations were also considerably longer than that of severe sepsis, with the former having a 2-3 day longer hospital stay on an average. Consequently, a similar trend was also observed in the payments per hospitalization for the two cohorts, where in the average payment of a septic shock hospitalization exceeded that of severe sepsis by a minimum of 36% (JFK Medical Center) and a maximum of 75% (AdventHealth Orlando).