Writing in the MJA, researchers have reported the findings of a prospective cohort study comparing estimates of the incidence and mortality of sepsis using clinical diagnosis or the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Centre for Outcome and Resource Evaluation (ANZICS CORE) database methodology. The researchers found that when compared with clinical diagnosis, the ANZICS CORE database criteria significantly underestimated the incidence of sepsis and overestimated the incidence of septic shock. The database methodology also resulted in lower estimates of hospital mortality for each condition. Of the 864 patients admitted to the 60-bed intensive care unit (ICU) in the 3-month study period, 146 were diagnosed with sepsis using clinical criteria, and 98 were diagnosed using the database definition. The researchers reported that 70 patients had a false negative diagnosis of sepsis and 22 patients were given a false positive diagnosis using the database method.

Read More