Survey: Most Americans Unfamiliar With Sepsis and Septic Shock

According to new research, most Americans are unfamiliar with the terms sepsis or septic shock, a life-threatening condition from the body’s response to infections, which causes more deaths per year than breast cancer, HIV/AIDS and prostate cancer combined. 

Sepsis kills about 200,000 Americans each year, but a survey by the Feinstein institute found that 60% of Americans were unfamiliar with the term; a number that is consistent with surveys of the rest of the world’s population. Lack of knowledge can be fatal, as septic shock strikes rapidly, and a correct diagnosis of the ailment early on can be the difference between life and death.

Sepsis occurs when the body overreacts to an infection, causing the immune system to begin damaging the body’s own tissues as well as combating foreign bacteria.

Currently, only about 70% of patients diagnosed with septic shock walk out of U.S. hospitals alive. That is because every hour that treatment is delayed lowers the rate of survival by about 8%, yet many hospitals fail to immediately diagnose sepsis and do not begin providing appropriate treatment for four to six hours.

Symptoms of septic shock are often vague, including:

• Confusion
• Shortness of breath
• Increase heart rate
• Declining blood pressure
• Weakness

The Feinstein Institute surveyed 1,000 Americans before a worldwide symposium on sepsis sponsored by the institute in late September. They found that 60% of Americans had never heard of the terms sepsis or septic shock, and that the lack of knowledge was highest among seniors and African Americans; both groups suffer higher than average death rates from sepsis.

“In the U.S., one in four hospital deaths is caused by sepsis, yet the majority of Americans have never even heard of the condition,” said Dr. Kevin J. Tracey, president of the Feinstein Institute. “The lack of awareness and understanding is one of the major challenges we face in health care today.”

A group known as the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) is calling for healthcare providers to treat sepsis as a medical emergency in all cases. The GSA estimates that sepsis affects about 750,000 Americans each year and costs the nation’s healthcare system about $17 billion annually.