New multisociety recommendations outline hospital strategies to improve sepsis outcomes

IDSA-led expert panel provides guidance to help hospitals strengthen infection-related aspects of sepsis care. 

The Infectious Diseases Society of America and seven other professional societies today released a position paper highlighting evidence-informed recommendations on hospital strategies to improve sepsis outcomes. 

In addition to IDSA, the panel includes representatives from the American College of Emergency Physicians, American Society for Microbiology, American Thoracic Society, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, Society of Hospital Medicine, Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists and Sepsis Alliance.

The panel’s recommendations span six domains that support high-quality, infection-related sepsis care: diagnostic testing and pathogen detection, antimicrobial management, surveillance and performance measurement, adjunctive therapies, hospital infrastructure and organizational support, and infection prevention. Examples include implementing rapid molecular testing of positive blood cultures together with antimicrobial stewardship support, optimizing hospital workflows to ensure immediate antibiotic therapy for patients with septic shock, establishing protocols to guide corticosteroid use in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia, implementing electronic sepsis surveillance and standardizing daily toothbrushing to reduce hospital-acquired pneumonia.

The recommendations address an important gap in current sepsis improvement efforts. Sepsis remains a leading cause of serious illness and death worldwide despite decades of efforts to improve its recognition and treatment. While clinical guidelines and quality improvement programs have helped standardize early sepsis care, less attention has been paid to the infection-related systems, workflows and organizational practices needed to consistently deliver high-quality sepsis care.

“Early recognition and treatment remain a cornerstone of sepsis care, but they are only part of the solution,” said Chanu Rhee, MD, MPH, FIDSA, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, director of the Center for Sepsis Epidemiology & Prevention Studies at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and chair of the panel. “Hospitals also need systems that support timely and accurate diagnosis, optimal antimicrobial management, timely source control, infection prevention and continuous quality improvement. We hope these recommendations help hospitals build stronger sepsis programs that consistently deliver high-quality care and improve patient outcomes.”

In addition to evidence-informed strategies that hospitals can implement, the paper highlights promising emerging technologies — including next-generation diagnostics and artificial intelligence-enabled clinical decision support — that may further improve sepsis care but require additional validation before widespread adoption.

The position paper is endorsed by IDSA, ACEP, ASM, PIDS, SCCM, SHEA, SHM and SIDP.

About IDSA
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a global community of 13,000 clinicians, scientists and public health experts working together to solve humanity’s smallest and greatest challenges, from tiny microbes to global outbreaks. Rooted in science, committed to health equity and driven by curiosity, our compassionate and knowledgeable members safeguard the health of individuals, our communities and the world by advancing the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. Visit idsociety.org to learn more.