The highest burden of incidence and total costs occurred in the lowest severity sepsis cohort population. Sepsis cases not diagnosed until after admission, and those with increasing severity had a higher economic burden and mortality on a case-by-case basis.

Methods to improve early identification of sepsis may provide opportunities for reducing the severity and economic burden of sepsis in the United States.

The final study cohort consisted of 2,566,689 sepsis cases, representing patients with a mean age of 65 years (50.8% female).

Overall mortality was 12.5% but varied greatly by severity (5.6%, 14.9%, and 34.2%) for sepsis without organ dysfunction, severe sepsis, and septic shock, respectively.

Adults over 18 years old with a hospital discharge diagnosis code of sepsis from January 1, 2010, to September 30, 2016.

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