Each year millions of patients worldwide suffer from an episode of severe sepsis. With advances in early detection and antibiotic therapy, the majority of these patients are released from the hospital and appear to be healthy. However, it has been suspected that many are discharged with a new, poorly understood array of long-term cognitive and functional impairments. This video defines sepsis, outlines the current evidence for long-term impairment and discusses the implications of these findings.

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This video is provided for general and educational information only. Please consult your health care provider for Information about your health.

This video was created by McMaster University students Aaron Edward, Hussain Abbas, Sarah Gabrial, Renuka Singh and Justin Wu in collaboration with the McMaster Demystifying Medicine Program.

Copyright McMaster University 2016

References

1. Angus, D., & Poll, T. Van Der. (2013). Severe sepsis and septic shock. New England Journal of Medicine, 369, 840–51.

2. Cuthbertson, B. H., Elders, A., Hall, S., Taylor, J., Maclennan, G., Mackirdy, F., & Audit, G. (2013). Mortality and quality of life in the five years after severe sepsis. Critical Care, 17(2), R70.

3. Langa, K. M., & Iwashyna, T. (2012). Long-term cognitive impairment and functional disability among survivors of severe sepsis. JAMA, 304(16), 1787–1794.

4. Yende, S., & Angus, D. C. (2007). Long-term outcomes from sepsis. Current Infectious Disease Reports, 9, 382-386.