Epidemiology of sepsis in ICUs of Western China

ObjectivesTo investigate the relationship between sepsis prevalence and disease types in intensive care units (ICUs), as well as the effect of knowledge of the health care workers about the sepsis guidelines on sepsis morbidity and mortality.MethodsA one-day cross-sectional survey was conducted in five ICUs in the cities of Chongqing and Guizhou, China. The included patients were divided into three groups: the internal medicine group (Group A), surgery group (Group B), and trauma group (Group C). Sepsis was diagnosed by the 2012 Sepsis Guidelines, and the prevalence and 28-day mortality were statistically analyzed. The relationship between the knowledge of health care workers about sepsis and morbidity and mortality was analyzed.ResultsAmong the enrolled 71 patients, the sepsis prevalence rate was 81.5%, 66.7%, and 87.0% in Groups A, B, and C, respectively. In total, the 28-day mortality rate was 36.4%, 42.9% and 20.0% in Groups A, B, and C, respectively, indicating no significant difference. The sepsis prevalence was 66.7%, 90.0%, 90.9%, 100.0% and 76.9% in the five ICUs. The average cognitive score of each hospital was 68.5 ± 15.4, 65.7 ± 16.7, 69.0 ± 23.3, 25.0 ± 8.4, and 61.4 ± 19.9 points in the five ICUs. Cognitive scores were not associated with prevalence of sepsis, but they were negatively related with sepsis mortality.ConclusionsSepsis prevalence and mortality are not associated with diseases types within ICUs, but the knowledge of sepsis of health care workers is associated with the prognosis of sepsis patients.