Current challenges within sepsis diagnostics and AMR show the need for a standardised blood culture pathway. Stefan Schraag explores how the med tech industry can support this through greater education and innovation. This article follows on from a stakeholder event taking a holistic view of the blood culture pathway and encouraging diagnostic integration beyond the walls of laboratories.
The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health concern, with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring it as one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity as the challenge of treating common infections is rising.1 AMR is a key challenge for the treatment of sepsis. With pathogens becoming progressively resistant to available antibiotics, the risk of patients developing sepsis increases, and the opportunity for successful treatment decreases.
Antimicrobial resistance and sepsis
Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction, caused by over activation of the body’s immune system in response to infection. There are at least 48,000 deaths associated with sepsis each year in the UK – that’s five every hour.2 Early identification, accurate diagnostics and the implementation of an effective antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programme is critical to improving patient outcomes for those with sepsis and combatting the rising challenge of AMR.
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