Three leading organizations specialising in sepsis research and treatment, have published a consensus paper highlighting the link between SARS-CoV-2 and sepsis. The paper notes that patients critically ill with COVID-19 have viral sepsis, despite there being some differences from sepsis caused by other pathogens. Patients with severe COVID-19 suffer from multi-organ dysfunction, including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), vasodilatory shock, acute kidney injury, coagulopathy, and impaired brain, heart and gastrointestinal function – all these represent common clinical manifestations of sepsis.
The authors of the paper, including Prof Simon Finfer from The George Institute, make a case for using the successful trial platforms set up during the pandemic to support research on sepsis, and also to integrate sepsis education and awareness into national health systems, as urged by the World Health Assembly resolution of 2017.
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