Study: Nurse staffing linked to post-surgical sepsis rates

Sepsis rates were significantly lower when nurses cared for fewer patients and when intensivist hours were greater, according to a recent study of the rate of sepsis after surgery in Massachusetts hospitals. Linear regression for nurse staffing revealed a significantly higher rate of sepsis associated with both higher rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infection and higher numbers of step-down patients cared for by nurses. The researchers noted previous research indicating nurses’ intuition may play an important role in the early recognition of sepsis. A separate study, published in the American Journal of Nursing, found a widely used sepsis warning system missed two-thirds of cases. (Critical Care Nurse article, 10/1/21)