Preventing, identifying, and managing sepsis in the community: research and clinical priorities
Sepsis, defined as life-threatening acute organ dysfunction due to infection, is generally considered a hospital-based issue. However, sepsis usually begins in the community, where knowledge of sepsis is scarce, diagnosis is difficult, and resources vary. Community-based interventions might offer the best opportunity for prevention, prompt diagnosis, and improved outcomes. In this Viewpoint, we address current gaps and limitations in understanding of sepsis in the community and outline research priorities, clinical priorities, and existing initiatives across four domains: mitigation (ie, reduction of population-based sepsis risk), monitoring (ie, screening for sepsis in individuals at high risk of sepsis), measurement (ie, identification of sepsis in the community), and management (ie, treatment of sepsis in the community).
Authors
- Derek C. Angus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7026-5181)
- Robert W. Quinn
- Adam C. Levine (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3982-3824)
- Grace Jenq (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1930-7235)
- Manu Shankar‐Hari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5338-2538)
- Thierry Calandra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3051-1285)
- Hallie C. Prescott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8442-6724)
- Christopher F. Chesley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7921-1879)
- Nicholas M. Mohr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0497-5828)
- Kristina E. Rudd (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6695-8401)
- Michael R. Filbin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2588-7504)
- Michael Bauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1521-3514)
- Adrienne G. Randolph (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3084-3071)
- Fatima Sheikh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1327-2203)
- Jordan A. Kempker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6830-5201)
- Patrycja Śleboda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7845-2232)
- Kathy Rowan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8217-5602)
- Flávia Ribeiro Machado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2356-4867)
- Joel M.H. Teichman
- Phillip D. Levy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7306-5620)
Institutions
- Boston Children's Hospital (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Emory University (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Jena University Hospital (DE)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Lancet Primary Care
- Published
- 2025-07-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanprc.2025.100010
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.06
Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- University of Pittsburgh
- Georgetown University
- University of New South Wales
- Israel Science Foundation
- George Institute for Global Health
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences