A study by the Faculty of Medicine at CUHK found that a quarter of all adult deaths in Hong Kong were related to sepsis. In the decade from 2009 to 2018, adult sepsis morbidity and mortality both increased steadily.
To understand the impact of sepsis on the entire population in Hong Kong, CUHK studied the electronic medical records of more than 13 million adults seeking treatment in public hospitals from 2009 to 2018 and conducted a full-scale data analysis. It was found that the incidence of sepsis increased by 8 percent each year, from 624 cases per 100,000 people in 2009 to 759 cases per 100,000 people in 2018. The mortality rate from sepsis also increases by 9 percent a year. It increased from 142 cases per 100,000 people in 2009 to 156 cases per 100,000 in 2018.
The study also found that the proportion of deaths each year that can be attributed to sepsis is also rising. In 2018, 27.8 percent of all adult deaths in Hong Kong were related to sepsis, with the respiratory, urinary, and digestive systems being the three most commonly infected areas in adults with sepsis.
Dr. Lowell Ling, Assistant Professor of the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK, concluded that the results highlighted the extreme burden sepsis poses to Hong Kong society. Sepsis is not only an increasingly common cause of death in Hong Kong, but the recovery status of patients has not improved much in the past decade. These situations are worrying.
He reminded the public to pay more attention to the symptoms of sepsis. In addition to infection symptoms such as fever, cough with phlegm, or burning pain during urination, patients may experience chills, confusion, severe shortness of breath, decreased urination frequency, dizziness, and skin discoloration. He called on the public to seek medical attention as soon as possible once these symptoms start.
Details of the study have been published in the international medical journal “Clinical Infectious Diseases.”
