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Most U.S. Adults unfamiliar with Sepsis, one
of Nation's leading Causes of Death
MANHASSET, N.Y.,
Sept. 27, 2010
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sixty percent of
U.S. adults are not familiar with sepsis,
despite the fact that more than 200,000
Americans die from it every year, making
sepsis one of the leading causes of death in
the nation.
Lack of awareness is even
higher among adults over age 65, who are at
greater risk of sepsis, according to a new
national survey sponsored by The Feinstein
Institute for Medical Research in
Manhasset, NY,
part of the North Shore–LIJ Health System.
Sepsis is the body's life-threatening
response to infection and leads to shock,
multiple organ failure and death, especially
if not recognized early and treated
promptly.
Sepsis remains the primary cause
of death from infection despite advances in
modern medicine, including vaccines,
antibiotics and acute care.
Research has shown that health care spending
on sepsis has increased by
$1.7 billion
per year, with no discernible improvement in
mortality.
"One in four hospital deaths are caused by
sepsis, yet the majority of Americans have
never even heard of the condition. Sepsis is
a mystery to most Americans," said
Kevin J. Tracey,
M.D., president of the Feinstein Institute.
"The lack of awareness and understanding is
one of the major challenges we face in
health care today."
The Feinstein Institute-sponsored survey of
1,000 adults, 18 years of age and older, was
conducted online from
August 26
–
September 2, 2010
by APCO Insight, an international research
firm. Key findings included:
69 percent of seniors, aged 65 and older,
are not familiar with the term sepsis.
Studies show that seniors are at a higher
risk of developing sepsis, often because
they have chronic diseases that weaken their
immune system and make them more susceptible
to it.
Familiarity varied by region. Adults from
the southern states are least familiar with
the term 'sepsis', despite the fact that a
recently-published study shows the highest
mortality rates are also in southern
states(1).
63 percent of men versus 55 percent of women
are not familiar with sepsis. Published
research shows that men have a higher
mortality rate than women(2).
67 percent of African-Americans versus 58
percent of Caucasians and 57 percent of
Hispanics were not familiar with sepsis.
Research has shown that African-Americans
have higher incidence rates of sepsis than
the population as a whole and that
African-American men have the highest
mortality rates(2).
Only 50 percent of college graduates were
familiar with sepsis versus 24 percent of
those with a high school diploma or less.
The Feinstein Institute released the survey
results just prior to the
Merinoff Symposium, a two-day
international conference that will bring
together more than 150 sepsis experts from
18 countries. The conference, which will be
held
September 30 to October 1
at the institute in
Manhasset, N.Y.,
features presentations from many of the
leading health care experts, including:
Carl Flatley,
D.D.S., M.S.D.,
Dunedin, FL,
whose 23-year-old daughter died from sepsis
after a minor surgical procedure
Jackie Wang,
of
New York City,
who beat the odds and survived sepsis
earlier this year
Kevin J. Tracey,
M.D., President,
Feinstein Institute
for Medical Research
Maureen Bisognano,
President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare
Improvement (IHI)
Patrick Kelley,
M.D., Director of the Board of Global
Health, Institute of Medicine
Thomas Deufel,
M.D., State Secretary in the Thuringian
Ministry of Education, Science and Culture,
Germany
John Howe,
M.D., President and CEO, Project HOPE
Keith Martin,
M.D., Member of Parliament, Esquimalt-Juan
de Fuca,
British Columbia
Edgar Jimenez,
M.D., Director, Medical Critical Care,
Orlando Regional Medical Center,
USA
Niranjan "Tex" Kissoon, M.D., Associate Head
and Professor, Division of Critical Care,
Department of Pediatrics,
University of British Columbia,
Vice-President, Medical Affairs, BC
Children's Hospital
Konrad Reinhart,
M.D., Director of the Department of
Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine,
University Hospital of the Friedrich
Schiller, University of Jena,
Germany
"Although this survey was conducted in the
U.S., other surveys have shown similar
results in
Europe.
Raising awareness about sepsis is a
critical first step to addressing the high
mortality rates we've seen worldwide," said
Dr. Tracey.
The Merinoff Symposium will be broadcast
live on the internet at
Molecular Medicine/ The Merinoff Symposium
