Many readmissions of patients with severe sepsis for other conditions could be prevented, US study finds

More than 40% of readmissions of people previously admitted to hospital for severe sepsis could be prevented with timely outpatient care, a new US study indicates.

In the study, lead author Hallie Prescott, a clinical lecturer in internal medicine who specializes in sepsis care at the University of Michigan Medical School, and colleagues compared rates of rehospitalization of patients who had been admitted to hospital for severe sepsis with patients who had been admitted for 15 other common acute medical conditions, such as heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The patients were …