Essentia Health takes on deadly sepsis
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Skyrocketing cases of sepsis in hospitals across the country have prompted Essentia Health to put new protocols in place and employ its electronic medical record to watch for early signs of the potentially deadly condition.
“Sepsis is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. In its early stages, it can be difficult to diagnose and can lead to a patient’s rapid deterioration,” says Dr. Jeff Lyon, Essentia Health Patient Safety Officer. “By then, our treatments become less successful, and patients may experience multiple-organ dysfunction, such as kidney and respiratory failure.”
The electronic health record will look for certain “predictive analytics” or clues to key caregivers to watch out for early signs of sepsis in patients. Body temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, white blood cell count, among other things are monitored and if any combine to meet certain criteria, an alarm will alert staff so they can take prompt action.
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