• Jonathan D Baghdadi, Mitchell D Wong, Daniel Z Uslan, Douglas Bell, William E Cunningham, Jack Needleman, Russell Kerbel, and Robert Brook.
• Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. jbaghdadi@som.umaryland.edu.
• J Gen Intern Med. 2020 Apr 1; 35 (4): 115311601153-1160.

BackgroundSepsis is the leading cause of in-hospital death. The SEP-1 sepsis bundle is a protocol for early sepsis care that requires providers to diagnose and treat sepsis quickly. Limited evidence suggests that adherence to the sepsis bundle is lower in cases of hospital-onset sepsis.ObjectiveTo compare sepsis bundle adherence in hospital-onset vs. community-onset sepsis.DesignRetrospective cohort study using multivariable analysis of clinical data.ParticipantsA total of 4658 inpatients age 18 or older were identified by diagnosis codes consistent with sepsis or disseminated infection.SettingFour university hospitals in California between 2014 and 2016.Main Outcomes And MeasuresThe primary outcome was adherence to key components of the sepsis bundle defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in their core measure, SEP-1. Covariates included clinical characteristics related to the patient, infection, and pathogen.Key ResultsCompared with community-onset, cases of hospital-onset sepsis were less likely to receive SEP-1 adherent care (relative risk 0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.29-0.38, p < 0.001). With the exception of vasopressors (RR 1.11, p = 0.002), each component of SEP-1 evaluated-blood cultures (RR 0.76, p < 0.001), serum lactate (RR 0.51, p < 0001), broad-spectrum antibiotics (RR 0.62, p < 0.001), intravenous fluids (0.47, p < 0.001), and follow-up lactate (RR 0.71, p < 0.001)-was less likely to be performed within the recommended time frame in hospital-onset sepsis. Within the hospital, cases of hospital-onset sepsis arising on the ward were less likely to receive SEP-1-adherent care than were cases arising in the intensive care unit (RR 0.68, p = 0.004).ConclusionsInpatients with hospital-onset sepsis receive different management than individuals with community-onset sepsis. It remains to be determined whether system-level factors, provider-level factors, or factors related to measurement explain the observed variation in care or whether variation in care affects outcomes.

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