preprints.org > medicine and pharmacology > emergency medicine > doi: 10.20944/preprints202308.0818.v1

Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 8 August 2023 / Approved: 9 August 2023 / Online: 10 August 2023 (10:28:15 CEST)

Early treatment is the mainstay of sepsis therapy. We suspected that early recognition of sepsis by prehospital healthcare providers may shorten time to antibiotic administration in the Emergency Department. We retrospectively evaluated all patients above 18 years of age that were diagnosed with sepsis or severe infection in our Emergency Department between 2018 and 2020. We recorded the suspected diagnosis at time of presentation, type of referring healthcare provider and time until initiation of antibiotic treatment. Differences between groups were calculated using Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. Of the 277 patients that were diagnosed with severe infection or sepsis in the emergency department, an infection was suspected in 124 (44.8%) patients and sepsis was suspected in 31 (11.2%) patients by referring healthcare providers. Time to initiation of antibiotic treatment was shorter in patients where sepsis or infection had been suspected prior to arrival for both patients with severe infections (p = 0.022) and sepsis (p = 0.004). Given the well described outcome benefits to early sepsis therapy, recognition of sepsis needs to be improved. Appropriate scores should be used as part of routine patient assessment to reduce time to antibiotic administration and improve patient outcomes.

qSOFA; Emergency Medical Services; Screening; Scoring; Surviving Sepsis Campaign

Medicine and Pharmacology, Emergency Medicine

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