Sepsis Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of sepsis. This awareness is accomplished through a variety of methods, including healthcare professional education programs, outreach to the general population, and lobbying for regulatory measures which improve outcomes for individuals with sepsis.[1] The organization is recognized as a 501(c)(3) charity by the Internal Revenue Service.[2]
In 2002, Erin K. Flatley, a 23-year-old woman studying to be an elementary school teacher, underwent a minor outpatient surgical procedure. Within days, she was experiencing incredible pain that prompted her family to bring her to the emergency department. On April 30, 2002, six days after her procedure, Erin died from septic shock.[3] Tests performed at the hospital revealed significantly elevated white blood counts; however, neither Erin nor her parents were aware of these blood test results until after her death.
Erin's father, Carl Flatley, a retired endodontist from Dunedin, Florida, researched the causes of sepsis in the months that followed his daughter's death, later noting with frustration that he had lost his daughter to "something he had never even heard of."[4] In 2003, he founded the Sepsis Alliance[5] in order to change clinical practice in the United States[6] by educating doctors and emergency room workers about sepsis.
"You don't want to panic people. We all get infections and, thank God, most of them heal," he says. "So this is what I tell people: If you're feeling bad all over and have a high temperature and either high or low blood pressure, those are all indications that your whole system has been infected. It could be sepsis."[7]
Funding
Sepsis Alliance is a patient advocacy non-profit organization[8] funded by contributions from individual donors, corporations, and foundations. In addition to these major sources of funding, Sepsis Alliance is a named beneficiary from several annual fundraisers, and also generates income from sepsis-related materials.
Sepsis awareness
In 2010, Sepsis Alliance commissioned its first public survey, designed to gauge public perception of sepsis. Prepared by Harris Interactive, the survey asked 1,004 adults whether they were familiar with sepsis. According to the survey, 66% of respondents had never even heard of sepsis. Among those who had heard of sepsis, 35% did not know what sepsis was, while 55% thought that sepsis was a type of infection. Thomas Heymann, President of Sepsis Alliance, noted, "The fact that only one-third of respondents had even heard of sepsis, let alone understood what it was, reinforces the urgent need for increased public awareness of sepsis."[9]
Awareness is increasing slowly, as seen in annual surveys. The 2013 survey, also prepared by Harris Interactive, found that only 44% of adult Americans had heard of sepsis. Among over 2,500 U.S. adults, younger Americans were significantly less likely to have heard the term "sepsis," with 57% of U.S. adults ages 18–34 indicating that they had never heard of it, (compared to 47% of those age 35–44, 39% of those age 45–54 and 36 percent of older Americans aged 55+). In addition, women were much more likely to have of sepsis, with 49% of women saying they have, compared to 38% of men confirming they had heard the term.[10] The 2015 survey revealed similar findings. The survey found that American adults were more familiar with rarer illnesses than sepsis. For example, 86% reported knowing about Ebola, 74% knowing about ALS, and 76% knowing about malaria, while only 47% of Americans were as aware about sepsis.[11] Results of the 2016 survey noted that about half of Americans had heard of sepsis.[12]
In 2018, sepsis awareness rose to 65%. The 2018 survey, conducted by Radius Global Market Research, revealed that awareness of sepsis rose to a new high with 65% of adults in the U.S. reporting they have heard the term sepsis. However, while the word sepsis is more well known, the survey also demonstrated that awareness of sepsis symptoms is still low; 36% of respondents said they did not know the symptoms and only 12% could correctly identify four common sepsis symptoms.[13]
In 2017, Sepsis Alliance commissioned a survey to assess parent knowledge of sepsis in relation to their children. The survey, also conducted by Radius Global Market Research, found that while 77% of parents surveyed were familiar with the word sepsis, only 28% could identify the common signs of pediatric sepsis. While as many as 92% of pediatric sepsis cases begin in the community, 41% of parents believed that their children could only develop sepsis while hospitalized.[14]
On July 26, 2011, Rachael Ray featured a segment called "What Is Sepsis". The segment featured Dr. Flatley and Dr. James O'Brien, an intensive care unit (ICU) doctor and Director at Sepsis Alliance. In a pre-taped segment, Dr. O'Brien introduced viewers to Jennifer Ludwin, a survivor of H1N1 influenza. Ludwin's legs and most of her fingers were amputated due to complications from sepsis.[15] Ludwin, a graduate student at the time at Ohio State University, went on to become a speaker on H1N1 and sepsis, even appearing in her own TEDxTalk in April, 2012.[16]
In 2016, Sepsis Alliance partnered with The Michigan Health & Hospital Association's Keystone Center to raise awareness about sepsis across the state through a series of events.[17]
Sepsis Awareness Month
In 2011, Sepsis Alliance launched Sepsis Awareness Month. Sepsis Awareness Month is promoted every September through social media, and online and traditional media.[18] Supporters are encouraged to participate in awareness activities, such as photo challenges, slogan contests, wearing red and black ribbons, and distributing sepsis awareness materials. The Know Sepsis tagline is also promoted among healthcare professionals, and facilities are encouraged to promote sepsis awareness through workshops, lectures, and special events.
It's About TIME campaign
In the spring of 2018, Sepsis Alliance launched a broad-based national campaign to raise awareness of sepsis as a medical emergency. The campaign centered around the acronym T-I-M-E which stands for:[19][20]
Temperature: higher or lower than normal
Infection: patient may have signs and symptoms of an infection
Mental decline: patient may be confused, sleepy, difficult to rouse
Extremely ill: patient may express feelings of severe pain or discomfort, with statements like "I feel like I might die."
Angelica Hale, a finalist in the reality television program America's Got Talent, was recruited as the spokesperson for the campaign. Hale was diagnosed with sepsis at the age of four.[21]
World Sepsis Day and Global Sepsis Alliance
Sepsis Alliance was one of the original founding members of the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA), which supports the efforts of caregivers as they seek to better understand and combat sepsis.[22][not specific enough to verify] Sepsis Alliance and other members of the GSA hosted the Merinoff Symposium on September 29, 2010, bringing together global experts on sepsis to help create a public definition of sepsis, a molecular definition of sepsis, and a global call to action to recognize sepsis as a medical emergency.[23]
GSA and its member organizations launched the first global World Sepsis Day on September 13, 2012, and it continues to be celebrated on that day annually around the world.[24] Hospitals and healthcare organizations, such as Cookeville Regional Medical Center in Tennessee[25] and Via Christi Pittsburg medical center in Kansas,[26] have used this day to showcase their efforts in sepsis detection and prevention.
In the U.S., Sepsis Alliance marked the occasion by hosting its first-ever Sepsis Heroes event, designed to recognize sepsis survivors, doctors, and healthcare providers that have helped raised awareness of sepsis in the community. Held in New York City, Sepsis Heroes was one of the first Sepsis Alliance-produced events to bring both survivors and healthcare professionals in one location. Earlier recipients of the Sepsis Heroes awards included Jen Ludwin, the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and the founders of two local fundraisers dedicated to raising funds and awareness of sepsis.
Fever or pyrexia in humans is defined as having a body temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point in the hypothalamus. There is no single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature: sources use values ranging between 37.2 and 38.3 °C in humans. The increase in set point triggers increased muscle contractions and causes a feeling of cold or chills. This results in greater heat production and efforts to conserve heat. When the set point temperature returns to normal, a person feels hot, becomes flushed, and may begin to sweat. Rarely a fever may trigger a febrile seizure, with this being more common in young children. Fevers do not typically go higher than 41 to 42 °C.
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity of the condition is variable.
Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs.
Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are infections of blood caused by blood-borne pathogens. Blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of microbes in the blood is always abnormal. A bloodstream infection is different from sepsis, which is characterized by severe inflammatory or immune responses of the host organism to pathogens.
An overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI) is a rare but rapidly fatal infection occurring in individuals following removal of the spleen. The infections are typically characterized by either meningitis or sepsis, and are caused by encapsulated organisms including Streptococcus pneumoniae. It is a medical emergency and requires immediate treatment. Death has been reported to occur within 12 hours.
Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As of 2009, identified SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H2N1, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3.
In virology, influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A/H1N1) is a subtype of influenza A virus. Major outbreaks of H1N1 strains in humans include the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, the 1977 Russian flu pandemic and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. It is an orthomyxovirus that contains the glycoproteins hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), antigens whose subtypes are used to classify the strains of the virus as H1N1, H1N2 etc. Hemagglutinin causes red blood cells to clump together and binds the virus to the infected cell. Neuraminidase is a type of glycoside hydrolase enzyme which helps to move the virus particles through the infected cell and assist in budding from the host cells.
Pandemrix is an influenza vaccine for influenza pandemics, such as the 2009 flu pandemic. The vaccine was developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and patented in September 2006.
World Lymphoma Awareness Day (WLAD) is held on September 15 every year and is a day dedicated to raising awareness of lymphoma, an increasingly common form of cancer. It is a global initiative hosted by the Lymphoma Coalition (LC), a non-profit network organisation of 83 lymphoma patient groups from 52 countries around the world. WLAD was initiated in 2004 to raise public awareness of both Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in terms of symptom recognition, early diagnosis and treatment.
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu" or just "flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms begin from one to four days after exposure to the virus and last for about 2–8 days. Diarrhea and vomiting can occur, particularly in children. Influenza may progress to pneumonia, which can be caused by the virus or by a subsequent bacterial infection. Other complications of infection include acute respiratory distress syndrome, meningitis, encephalitis, and worsening of pre-existing health problems such as asthma and cardiovascular disease.
Global Hand washing Day (GHD) is an international hand washing promotion campaign to motivate and mobilize people around the world to improve their hand washing habits. Washing hands at critical points both during the day and washing with soap are important. In 2008, Global Handwashing Day was celebrated for the first time. This day aims to make people around the world aware of the importance of washing their hands with soap in order to prevent diseases and infections. To commemorate this special day, over 120 million children in 70 countries were encouraged to practice handwashing with soap. Since then, the movement has built momentum, garnering support from various stakeholders such as governments, schools, NGOs, and private firms.
The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1/swine flu/influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, was the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus. The first known human case was in La Gloria, Mexico, a rural town in Veracruz. The virus appeared to be a new strain of H1N1 that resulted from a previous triple reassortment of bird, swine, and human flu viruses which further combined with a Eurasian pig flu virus, leading to the term "swine flu".
The pandemic H1N1/09 virus is a swine origin influenza A virus subtype H1N1 strain that was responsible for the 2009 swine flu pandemic. This strain is often called swine flu by the public media. For other names, see the Nomenclature section below.
The 2009 swine flu pandemic in North America, part of a pandemic in 2009 of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 causing what has been commonly called swine flu, began in the United States or Mexico.
The 2009 flu pandemic hit Africa two months later than other continents with the first case reported in Egypt on June 2, 2009. As of December 1, 30 countries in Africa had reported cases and 7 countries in Africa had reported a total of 108 deaths. It was the least affected continent.
The 2009 flu outbreak in Malaysia was part of a larger flu pandemic involving a new type of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 virus. As of 11 August 2009, the country had over 2,253 cases, beginning with imported cases from affected countries, including the United States and Australia from 15 May 2009 onwards, and the first identified local transmission on 17 June 2009. From 12 August 2009, the Malaysian Health Ministry said that it had discontinued officially updating the total number of H1N1 cases within Malaysia in line with guidelines issued by the World Health Organization. As of 21 August 2009 the unofficial number of cases reported in the media is 5,876 so far. The first death related to the A(H1N1) virus was reported on 23 July 2009 and so far there have been 78 deaths reported. On 6 July 2009 Malaysia announced that it was shifting from containment to mitigation to tackle the spread of the virus. The federal government had declared a national health emergency in Malaysia because of the A(H1N1) outbreak and was considering imposing a health curfew similar to the week-long shutdown of non-essential services and industries in Mexico.
Influenza prevention involves taking steps that one can use to decrease their chances of contracting flu viruses, such as the Pandemic H1N1/09 virus, responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic.
Rory Staunton was a young boy from Queens, New York, whose death from sepsis created a nationwide movement to address the issue of early recognition of sepsis and its treatment.
Angelica Hale is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She competed in the 12th season of America's Got Talent, and became the runner-up to winner Darci Lynne.
Abionic SA is a company specialized in the development of ultra-rapid in vitro diagnostic tests, located in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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