OTTAWA, Dec 14, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Canadian mortality rates for sepsis --
blood poisoning -- patients are three times as high as for heart attack
patients, health officials say.
Indra Pulcins of the Canadian Institute for Health Information in Ottawa says
more than 30 percent of the 30,500 patients hospitalized with sepsis die,
compared to 18 percent of about 30,000 stroke patients and 9.1 percent of 49,000
heart attack patients. Almost one-quarter of sepsis patients are diagnosed with
sepsis after being admitted to hospitals, Pulcins says.
"While hospitals will never bring mortality rates to zero, many hospitals have
made reducing their mortality rates a priority," Pulcins says in a statement.
"Thanks to concerted efforts across the country to improve quality of care and
patient safety, hospital standardized mortality ratios appear to be decreasing
overall in Canada."
Sepsis -- a condition resulting from the body's response to severe infection by
bacteria, fungi or a virus that can result in tissue damage, organ failure or
death -- may develop from minor infections such as flu or urinary tract
infection.
However, it is more likely in those with serious wounds, very weak immune
systems or open or exposed areas from catheters. Various factors, such as early
recognition and treatment and prevention of hospital-acquired infections, can
reduce deaths from sepsis, Pulcins says.
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International