Sepsis patients could be set to benefit from faster and better treatment thanks to a new blood test being trialled at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
With there currently being no test to diagnose sepsis, this new solution is being trialled in the UK for the first time and could diagnose the condition within 45 minutes.
Sepsis occurs when the body’s immune system goes into ‘overdrive’ and releases an excessive amount of DNA to trap infections and stop them spreading further.
This DNA is known as a neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) and researchers have devised a test which identifies a protein found in NETs.
This signposts to clinicians if a patient has too many NETs and is therefore more likely to have, or develop, sepsis.
“Detecting sepsis early is critical to saving lives.”
Dr Andrew Retter, study lead and a critical care consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’, continued: “Sepsis is the number one cause of death in hospitals and mortality increases as much as 8% for every hour that treatment is delayed.
“Being able to spot those patients most at risk of sepsis using a simple blood test would be a paradigm shift in the field and could save thousands of lives every year.”
The new blood test will be subject to a year-long study which launched at the end of November and will be compared to the current blood tests used to evaluate sepsis.
Health leaders hope the test, which Guy’s and St Thomas’ describes as non-invasive and low-cost, can help triage patients, thus delivering treatment to those who need it the most faster and more efficiently.
There is ongoing research into the role of NETs as a treatment for sepsis – something that leads to up to 48,000 deaths in the UK, according to the UK Sepsis Trust.
Dr Ron Daniels, founder and joint chief executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, commented: “Sepsis is one of the biggest causes of avoidable harm and death within our NHS. Delays in diagnosis results not only in lives lost, and not only in increased cost of care, but also in poor outcomes for survivors, including disability.”
He continued: “Any test which can help us to identify which patients are at increased risk of sepsis can ensure that we identify and treat patients with the most urgent need first: if this research demonstrates that NET proteins fulfil their promise as a risk stratification tool then lives will undoubtedly be saved.”
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