Sepsis deaths decrease in hospitals with mandatory treatment protocols, US study finds

Death rates from sepsis in New York state fell more quickly than in other states after a state wide mandatory treatment protocol was introduced, a study has shown.

The retrospective study examined more than a million admissions to hospital of people with sepsis to evaluate the effect of New York state’s regulations.

“Rarely in the US do we force hospitals to implement specific clinical protocols,” said the lead author, Jeremy Kahn, from the University of Pittsburgh. “For the first time, state officials are enshrining in regulations that hospitals must follow certain evidence based protocols when it comes to sepsis. …