April 17, 2003

Sepsis in the United States, 1979–2000

This analysis of discharge data from over 750 million acute care hospitalizations shows that the rate of sepsis more than doubled from 1979 to 2000. However, mortality from any cause declined from 28 percent in the early years of the study to 18 percent in more recent years. Since 1988, gram-positive organisms have become the predominant pathogens causing sepsis.

The outcomes of sepsis have improved, but there are major disparities among population groups. Among nonwhites, the incidence and mortality were nearly twice those among whites.