Patients with sepsis at higher risk of stroke

Sepsis accounts for an estimated 8 million deaths worldwide, and in Canada causes more than half of all deaths from infectious diseases.

Researchers looked at data on more than 1 million people in Taiwan, from whom 42,316 patients had sepsis, matched with control patients in the hospital and the general population. All sepsis patients had at least one organ dysfunction, 35% were in the intensive care unit and 22% died within 30 days of admission. In the total group of patients with sepsis, 1012 had a cardiovascular event, 831 had a stroke and 184 had a myocardial infarction within 180 days of discharge from hospital. Risk is highest in the first 7 days after discharge, with more than one-quarter (26%) of myocardial infarction or stroke occurring in the immediate period and 51% within 35 days.

"We found that within the first 4 weeks after discharge from the hospital with a markedly elevated risk of [myocardial infarction] and stroke, "Dr. Chien-Chang Lee writes, Department of Emergency Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, with coauthors.

The authors also found that younger patients with sepsis aged 20 to 45 years were at higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared to over 75 patients.

This study extends the findings of a Danish study that reported similar trends.

"Based on our study (Han Chinese) and the study in Denmark (European), the results of this study are of general interest to different populations," write the authors.

They call for further validation of their findings in different populations.

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Sepsis linked to higher post-discharge mortality risk

More information:
Chih-Cheng Lai et al. Susceptible period for cardiovascular complications in patients recovering from sepsis, Canadian Medical Association Journal (2018). DOI: 10.1503 / cmaj.171284