2024-01-15 10:13:02
News
Foundation calls for action by the legislature
by Karen Tippkötter
(01/15/2024) According to current estimates, there are over half a million people affected by sepsis in Germany every year, with more than 140,000 deaths in hospital alone. Over 270,000 of the survivors suffer long-term effects. The World Health Organization considers most of these deaths to be preventable, as shown by survivor counts in other countries such as Sweden and Australia. This means that around 190 people in Germany die unnecessarily every day and 370 affected suffer serious long-term consequences.
Legislation and the government must draw the right lessons from the pandemic, the current figures on sepsis frequency and the significantly higher sepsis mortality in Germany compared to other countries – this is a demand from the Sepsis Foundation and is also the subject of a current editorial. in “Medical Clinic – Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine”. Despite corresponding demands, consistent implementation of quality assurance and educational measures, which have led to a significant reduction in sepsis mortality in other countries, has not yet taken place. Collective, voluntary quality assurance measures at hospital level have proven to be ineffective in Germany.
Lack of communication about the connection between COVID-19 and sepsis/sepsis sequelae
The WHO Sepsis Resolution of 2017 already stated that not only bacteria, but also viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 and the influenza/flu virus as well as other infectious agents, can trigger sepsis. It has now been scientifically proven that the long-term consequences of viral infections such as COVID-19 and influenza only differ gradually from the consequences of sepsis and infections caused by other pathogens.
The similarities between pandemic-related and “everyday” endemic sepsis in terms of preventability, warning symptoms, emergency and consequences have not been communicated by those in the healthcare system and politics and the synergies remain unused. An example of this is that the health and research policy decisions to research the causes of Long COVID and improve care for those affected by it did not take into account the at least 270,000 sepsis survivors every year. They also suffer from severe medical, cognitive and psychological consequences, a third of them are in need of new care and encounter a lack of understanding.
Measures taken so far are inadequate
The fact that the quality assurance process on sepsis, which has been running for five years under the leadership of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), is not expected to be completed for another three years at the earliest, is a matter of concern given the enormous medical and material consequences for those affected, their relatives and society as a whole , once again raises significant questions about the functionality of the self-administration of the healthcare system. As part of this paradigm, the legislature has also placed quality assurance for inpatient health care in the hands of the G-BA. There have been calls for a national sepsis plan in Germany since 2013 and were renewed in 2017.
The lack of implementation contrasts with countries with significantly lower sepsis mortality, such as Australia, England, Ireland, Sweden and the USA, which have made sepsis a priority following the adoption of the WHO Sepsis Resolution. The Belgian Minister of Health is currently advocating for such a step. The assumption that the action alliance “Deutschland Recognizes Sepsis”, which has been supported by the BMG since 2021, can make a significant contribution to solving this immense challenge for society as a whole is unrealistic, despite the considerable commitment of the alliance partners, which also includes the Sepsis Foundation.
Necessary measures
In order to prevent further damage to citizens, the legislature at the federal and state levels must finally act. Immediate legislative measures are required to ensure international minimum standards in quality assurance and structural measures such as:
• Mandatory training for medical staff in the early detection of life-threatening illnesses and the provision of in-hospital emergency teams in acute hospitals
• Mandatory training for medical staff in emergency rooms, in the pre-hospital rescue service, for the medical staff of the statutory health insurance on-call service and the emergency services in the emergency call centers for the numbers 112 and 116117.
• Promoting health literacy among the general public on infection prevention, the need for early detection and emergency treatment of sepsis, and knowledge of its long-term consequences
• Consistent implementation of the hospital structural reform
• The reform of the G-BA in terms of strengthening patient orientation and increasing efficiency
• The establishment of a national infection management strategy under which existing silos can be overcome and synergies can be leveraged
• Research funding based on evidence-based facts
Further information at: www.sepsis-stiftung.de
#sepsis #deaths #preventable