Sepsis hospital admissions more than double in three years

New figures have shown that hospital admissions for deadly sepsis in England have more than doubled in three years.

The NHS Digital data shows there were 350,344 recorded hospital admissions with a first or second diagnosis of sepsis in 2017/18, up from 169,125 three years earlier. This includes 38,401 admissions among those aged four and under, up from 30,981 in 2015/16.

The data, obtained by PA, has prompted the head of the UK Sepsis Trust to warn parents they need to be just as vigilant for sepsis as meningitis, given the rise in recorded admissions among all age groups.

For all children and young people aged 24 and under, there were 48,647 admissions in 2017/18, marking a 32 per cent rise on the 36,847 hospital admissions for sepsis for this age group in 2015/16.

Ron Daniels, chief executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, said: “These potentially alarming data show that the number of recorded episodes of sepsis has more than doubled in just three years, a period coinciding with the recent focus on sepsis by the NHS in England. It’s highly likely that this means that we’re now closer to the true number of cases than we were three years ago.

“However, there are other factors at play: The growing and ageing population, the just expectation of more invasive healthcare at greater extremes of life and the currently unquantifiable impact of antibiotic resistance.

“A decade or two ago, infections such as urinary tract infections would be controlled by simple antibiotics – not so today. If the antibiotic doesn’t begin to control the infection, it may become more complicated – ideal breeding grounds for the onset of sepsis. A simple urinary tract infection could develop into a complex case in which the kidneys are also involved. Such complex infections, and any infection remaining under-treated, increase the risk of sepsis developing.”

Coinciding with the release of the figures, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has warned that a tool for tracking sepsis in children was not used as often as it should be and A&E departments were struggling to ensure youngsters suspected of having the condition were seen quickly enough and then reviewed by a senior doctor.

Sepsis is thought to kill 52,000 people a year in the UK.