early detection of sepsis a potential breakthrough in covid-19 battle
the challenge with life-threatening sepsis is that it often gets confused for a virus, says advocate kathryn hendrick.
3 minute read
sepsis is the body's response to infection and it can be deadly. stock/getty
as covid-19 continues to ravage our healthcare systems, the race to find solutions is on. for dr. bob hancock, a vancouver-based microbiologist, this means tackling sepsis — a potentially life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by the body’s response to an infection, and the second leading cause of death among covid 19 patients. hancock, the co-founder of b.c.-based sepset biosciences inc, recently received funding from the canadian institutes of health research to conduct a multi-center clinical study to investigate which patients with covid-19 are at higher risk of developing sepsis.“the goal is to tell the physician within an hour whether or not a patient will develop sepsis — who’ll go down quick and who won’t,” said hancock. “the right patients can be moved to the icu immediately.”sepset biosciences is developing a blood test for hospitals to identify septic patients and those at risk of organ failure. the diagnosis of sepsis is currently based on symptomologies, such as mental confusion, blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and respiratory rate. however, according to hancock, there is often only a 50/50 chance of an accurate diagnosis since the symptoms are quite general. hancock’s research team will test hundreds of samples of covid-19 patients using rna sequencing technology to examine the complete gene expression profiles of afflicted patients. preliminary results could be available within three months. the covid 19 pandemic has accelerated efforts to prevent sepsis, which is still responsible for around one in 5 deaths worldwide. it seems to be especially triggered by this pathogen, with virtually all organ systems potentially affected in infected patients. according to a recent article by the global sepsis alliance (gsa), “it is apparent that the best covid-19 care includes good sepsis care.” kathryn hendrick, a communications director at the gsa and patient advocate with the canadian sepsis foundation (csf), was the primary caregiver of her father, who died of sepsis. “the real challenge with sepsis, as a caregiver for a patient who developed it 18 times, [is that] you’re never sure if it’s part of a pre-existing condition, just a virus or sepsis,” she says. “you just don’t have time to act.” during the many times she rushed her father to the emergency room, hendrick says the protocol and workup conducted to deal with his sepsis were different.“it’s terrifying to get the help you need without being a pest in an emergency room,” she says. “it is really scary to see the early stages of sepsis grow into septic shock without being able to help.” hendrick has been working with the csf to raise awareness about early detection of sepsis along with raising awareness of the importance of recognizing it among ill patients. the goal is to normalize the idea that if someone is not feeling well, they could be septic.she says that hancocks’ work is going to be helpful, not just for the early diagnosis of sepsis, but also to offer clarity on its turbulent relationship with covid 19. “there just doesn’t seem to be any understanding as to why patients end up on a ventilator,” she says.hancock says recent studies have shown that patients with covid-19-related deaths suffer damage not only to their lungs, but also to their livers, kidneys and hearts, adding that sepsis is a complicated disease and that with improved protocols could increase life expectancy by 50 per cent. predicting which patients will more likely develop sepsis will significantly impact not just treatment, but better equip physicians with tools to predict the developments of the disease and plan treatments accordingly. hancock says there are five different types of sepsis that a patient can develop. the most common two types have normal lab results and the lowest death rates, the third type has more inflammation, high fever and breathing problems and the last two are the most severe, associated with liver problems and dangerously low blood pressure. a definite diagnosis can better allocate resources in a hospital and save more lives. “my father developed a low-grade fever, and within half an hour of taking his blood pressure, it plummeted to 80/60. within 25 minutes, he was delirious and couldn’t tell you what he was feeling,” says hendrick, adding that a clear and early prognosis is critical to better outcomes.don’t miss the latest on covid-19, reopening and life. subscribe to healthing’s daily newsletter coming out of covid.
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