An Assessment of Sepsis in the United States and Its Burden on Hospital Care

Summary

In the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill, the U.S. Congress directed the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to "conduct a comprehensive set of studies that calculate the morbidity, readmission, and mortality related to sepsis with respect to pediatrics, maternal sepsis, nursing home care, and rehabilitation, and the association of pandemic-related changes in the healthcare system on the burden of sepsis."^1,2

This report offers a comprehensive assessment of hospital care for sepsis in the United States. It begins with an overview of the Congress's directive in the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill, then provides background on sepsis, including causes, disease progression, comorbidities, risk factors, complications, and treatment.

In this report, AHRQ presents detailed statistics on hospital use related to sepsis and its burden on the hospital system, including:

• National trends in sepsis-related hospital utilization, aggregate in-hospital mortality, and hospital costs associated with sepsis.
• Trends in sepsis-related hospital utilization, morbidity, and in-hospital mortality for key subgroups, including nonmaternal adult, maternal, pediatric, and neonatal populations.
• Trends and disparities in overall hospital utilization related to sepsis and associated outcomes by patient race and ethnicity, sex, residence in socially vulnerable communities, and urban/rural location.

To inform strategies and initiatives that reduce the burden of sepsis, the report investigates State-level and hospital-level variation in sepsis-related hospital care and outcomes and reviews existing guidelines, quality improvement resources, and initiatives for early identification and management of sepsis.

In addition, the report presents data on the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of sepsis resulting from COVID-19. To understand the burden of sepsis on non-Federal acute-care hospitals in the United States, the report examines trends in utilization, hospital costs, and in-hospital mortality before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notes

1. H.R.2617-117th Congress (2021-2022): Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. (2022, December 29).
2. Appendix E.1 includes an explanatory statement from the Senate Appropriations Committee that provides a summary of estimates and Committee recommendations related to sepsis from the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-Education) appropriations bill.