Critical care resources, sepsis management and disaster preparedness in the Asia Pacific Region

JUST ASK, COULD IT BE SEPSIS?

Sepsis is a life-threatening response to any infection that progresses quickly and requires immediate attention. Know the signs and symptoms (one or all of the following may be present).

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF SEPSIS

Rapid breathing

Rapid heart rate

Confusion, slurred speech or disorientation

Fever or shivering

Muscle pain

Not passing urine

Discoloured skin

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO!

Early-stage sepsis:

Sufferers are generally unwell, may display one or all of the signs and symptoms, feel worse than when previously sick and there is concern
Contact healthdirect at https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/ OR Call 1800 022 222 (24 hours) and ask…could it be sepsis?

Later stage sepsis:

Sufferers are seriously unwell, likely to display significant changes in multiple signs and symptoms, feel like they might die and there is serious concern
CALL 000 Ambulance or if quicker go immediately to the closest Emergency Department and ask….could it be sepsis?

Key considerations:

If concerned get advice immediately
If seriously concerned get treatment immediately
Inflammation due to infection is normal but in sepsis the inflammation response is uncontrolled, it may start mildly but rapidly escalate to critical illness
Sepsis is difficult to recognise as it may not have an obvious cause, it can look like viral or bacterial illnesses such as flu, gastro or urinary tract infection
Trust your intuition…if it doesn’t feel right TAKE ACTION and always ask…could it be sepsis?

symptom checker Call 000

Sepsis is a time-critical complex condition that requires evidence-based care delivered by appropriate levels of well trained, qualified and experienced staff supported by proactive organisational and quality processes, sophisticated technologies and reliable infrastructure. In 2017, the estimated sepsis incidence in the Asia Pacific region ranged from 120 to 200 per 100,000 population in Australia to 2500 to 3400 per 100,000 population in India.

Currently, there is limited information on the organisational structures, human resources, clinical standards, laboratory support, and therapeutic options available in the Asia Pacific region to treat sepsis. The Asia Pacific Sepsis Alliance (APSA), a regional network of the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA), conducted a survey across the Asia Pacific including lower middle income (LMIC), upper middle income (UMIC) and high income countries (HIC) to better understand differences in critical care resources. The purpose of the survey is to inform healthcare workers , services, policy and governments, and facilitate improvements in sepsis care. The survey was conducted during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, so included disaster management and questions specific to COVID-19 patients.

See Dr Ashwani Kumar, Research Associate, The George Institute for Global Health and Australian Sepsis Network present the results at: APSA Critical Care Resources Survey results 2021

Read the full report here: APSA Critical Care Resources Report 2021