Epidemiology of sepsis in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Objective: To determine the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of patients with sepsis admitted to hospitals in Victoria, Australia, including the incidence of sepsis and severe sepsis, utilisation of intensive care unit (ICU) resources, and hospital mortality. Design: a population-based hospital morbidity database generated from hospital discharge coding. Setting: State of Victoria, Australia (population, 4.5 million), the 4-yr period from July 1, 1999, to June 30, 2003. Patients: A total of 3,122,515 overnight hospitalisations. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: The overall hospital incidence of sepsis was 1.1%, with a mortality of 18.4%. Of septic patients, 23.8% ..