Long Term Care Is Increasing for Elders and Dependant Adults That Acquire Severe Infections In Long Term Care Facilities

Written by Adam Peck Category: Nursing Homes January 23rd, 2013 2 min read

Patients admitted to US hospitals for severe sepsis are increasingly more likely to survive their hospitalization, have more severe infections, and require long-term care or assistance at home, according to new research published in the November issue of Chest. These trends occur against the backdrop of an aging population with increased comorbidities.

Across the United States, hospitalizations resulting from severe sepsis were nearly 2.5 times greater in 2007 than in 2000. There were 781,725 hospitalizations resulting from severe sepsis (2.38% of all hospitalizations) in 2007 compared with 300,270 hospitalizations (0.99% of the all hospitalizations) in 2000. The frequency of severe sepsis rose steadily year to year, peaking at 343 hospitalizations per 100,000 US adults in 2007, which is more than a 2-fold increase from the 143 hospitalizations per 100,000 US adults seen in 2000.

Severity of sepsis also worsened during the same period, with an average of 1.62 and 1.90 organ system failures at admission in 2000 and 2007, respectively (P < .001). The percentage of severe sepsis hospitalizations with 3 or more organ failures increased from approximately 15% to 25% (P < .001). In-hospital death rates also declined from 39.6% to 27.3% during the same period. Respiratory failure was the most frequent type of organ failure in 2000 compared with renal failure in 2007. The investigators used data from the US Census Bureau and the Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample to estimate the burden of severe sepsis hospitalizations per 100,000 patients says Los Angeles Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawyer Steven Peck of the Peck Law Group. They adjusted data on hospital discharge status for demographics, the number of organ system failures, and comorbidities.

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Written by Adam Peck

Expertise: Personal Injury

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.