The incidence of sepsis
Sepsis: Third leading cause of death
In Germany, every year about 154,000 people develop a sepsis. About 56,000 of them die, that is 154 people per day. By comparison, 2 people die of AIDS each day, 106 people of lung cancer.
Besides, sepsis is the leading cause of death on noncardiac intensive care units.
| Cases/year | Deaths/year | Mortality rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 1.500.000 | 500.000 | 33,3 % |
| USA | 749.129 | 215.000 | 28,7 % |
| Europe | 550.000 | 146.000 | 26,5 % |
| Germany | 154.000 | 56.000 | 36,4 % |
The incidence among industrial countries (without Germany) is determined with 51 - 300 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is higher than the incidence of diseases like colon cancer (50 / 100.000), breast cancer (110 / 100.000) and AIDS (17 / 100.000).
Sepsis figures
The figures are based on a representative study which was conducted in 2003/2004 by the competence network sepsis (SepNet).
Short study information
Number of hospitals: 310
Number of ICUs: 454
Period: 15.01.2003 – 14.01.2004
Further information:
Engel et al: "Epidemiology of sepsis in Germany: results from a national prospective multicenter study." N Engl J Med 2007; 33:606–618.
Nosocomial infections
Infections that are acquired in hospitals are called nosocomial infections.
The most common nosocomial infections are urinary tract infections (40%), lower respiratory tract infections (20%) and surgical wound infections (15%), followed by catheter-associated infections (8%).