Sepsis Is a Common Cause of Hospital Deaths

If you are concerned a loved one may have sepsis, seek care immediately, and ask the doctor, “Could it be sepsis?”

Sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection, is a common cause of deaths in hospitals, according to a new report.

The study looked at 568 people who had died in hospitals and whose average age was 70. More than half had sepsis, and it was the immediate cause of death for nearly 200 of them; another 100 had sepsis but didn’t die of it. Only 36 of the sepsis deaths might have been prevented with earlier antibiotic treatment or other measures, the researchers determined.