Temporal trends in the epidemiology, management, and outcome of sepsis—A nationwide observational study

Abstract Background Registry‐based studies have shown increasing incidence of sepsis and declining mortality rates in recent years, but are inherently at risk of bias. The objectives of this study were to describe 11‐year trends in the incidence, treatment and outcome of sepsis using clinical criteria with chart review. Methods This was a retrospective, observational study. All adult admissions to Icelandic ICUs during years 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 were screened for severe sepsis or septic shock by ACCP/SCCM criteria (sepsis‐2). Incidence, patient characteristics, treatment and outcome were compared across the study years. Results During the six study years, 9166 patients were admitted to Icelandic ICUs, 971 (10.6%) because of severe sepsis or septic shock. The crude incidence of sepsis requiring admission to ICU remained stable between 0.55 and 0.75 per 1000 inhabitants. No statistically significant trends were observed over time in median patient age (67 years), APACHE II score (21), SOFA score (8) or Charlson Comorbidity Index (4). The time to antibiotic administration (median 1.8 h) in the emergency departments was stable over the study period but the time to lactate measurements decreased from 4.1 h in 2006 to 1.2 h in 2016, p < .001. The 28‐day mortality was 25% and 1‐year mortality 41%, both with no observed change with time. Conclusions In a nationwide cohort, diagnosed with clinical criteria, the incidence of sepsis requiring intensive care did not change over an 11‐year period. Mortality remained stable and only minimal changes were observed in initial resuscitation in the emergency departments.