The innovation could provide the vital early warning of sepsis, which is responsible for almost 40,000 hospital deaths each year . Thousands of lives could be saved by a simple test to detect potentially-fatal blood poisoning within a matter of hours. A blood test could provide the vital early warning of sepsis, which is responsible for almost 40,000 hospital deaths each year – more than breast and bowel cancer combined. When combined with antibiotic drugs, the measure could improve a patient’s chances and save up to 15,000 lives a year. Conventional blood tests currently take up to 48 hours to confirm the illness, which has a mortality rate in excess of 40 per cent. But scientists at King’s College London have identified a molecule in the blood which is raised in those with sepsis, also known as septicaemia. They have now developed a blood test that, in tests, diagnosed the condition within two hours with 86 per cent accuracy. Large scale trials of the test are now being planned, and it is hoped to make it available on the NHS in as little as a year. Lead researcher professor Graham Lord said: ‘Sepsis is a hidden killer, causing nearly a third of all hospital deaths. Rapid antibiotic treatment for the condition is vital - every minute counts,’ he said. ‘Yet current diagnostic methods can take up to two days, so an accurate diagnostic test that can be carried out at the patient’s bedside is urgently needed. We have for the first time identified a group of biomarkers [molecules] in the blood that are good indicators of sepsis. ‘We have shown that it is possible to detect these markers by screening a patient’s blood in the ward, a process which can deliver results within two hours. This is an extremely exciting development, and hopefully we can improve recovery rates, but this has the potential to save thousands of lives every year.’ Sepsis costs the NHS more than £2billion a year and occurs when the immune system has a severe overreaction to an infection, attacking organs such as the heart and liver. Sepsis causes fever, inflammation and blood pressure and clotting problems that can lead to multiple organ failure and death . It causes fever, inflammation and blood pressure and clotting problems that can lead to multiple organ failure and death. On its website, the UK Sepsis Trust says healthcare workers have just six hours to deliver a set of interventions like antibiotics and intravenous fluids once the illness strikes. But fewer than one fifth of patients receive this standard of care due to its complexity. The research, published in the journal Public Library of Science ONE, took blood from individuals with sepsis, those with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) – a similar condition that does not respond to antibiotics – and healthy patients. After comparing the samples, they isolated a molecule that was more active in sepsis patients than in the other groups. Medical microbiologist Mark Fielder, of Kingston University London, said: ‘An early intervention in these cases can often result in a much improved result for the patient. ‘With this in mind, any improvements or aids to the diagnosis of such diseases are to be welcomed, especially when the tests are rapid and potentially able to be of use at the point of care.’ Professor Jodi Lindsay, professor of microbial pathogenesis at St George’s, University of London, said: ‘The accurate and rapid diagnosis of sepsis is vitally important and necessary to ensure some of our sickest patients receive the most effective method of treatment. Current methods are not accurate or rapid enough.’
Test can detect sepsis much earlier than conventional techniques .
Sepsis currently has a 40 per cent mortality rate .
It could be used by NHS in just a year .
The innovation could provide the vital early warning of sepsis, which is responsible for almost 40,000 hospital deaths each year . Thousands of lives could be saved by a simple test to detect potentially-fatal blood poisoning within a matter of hours. A blood test could provide the vital early warning of sepsis, which is responsible for almost 40,000 hospital deaths each year – more than breast and bowel cancer combined. When combined with antibiotic drugs, the measure could improve a patient’s chances and save up to 15,000 lives a year. Conventional blood tests currently take up to 48 hours to confirm the illness, which has a mortality rate in excess of 40 per cent. But scientists at King’s College London have identified a molecule in the blood which is raised in those with sepsis, also known as septicaemia. They have now developed a blood test that, in tests, diagnosed the condition within two hours with 86 per cent accuracy. Large scale trials of the test are now being planned, and it is hoped to make it available on the NHS in as little as a year. Lead researcher professor Graham Lord said: ‘Sepsis is a hidden killer, causing nearly a third of all hospital deaths. Rapid antibiotic treatment for the condition is vital - every minute counts,’ he said. ‘Yet current diagnostic methods can take up to two days, so an accurate diagnostic test that can be carried out at the patient’s bedside is urgently needed. We have for the first time identified a group of biomarkers [molecules] in the blood that are good indicators of sepsis. ‘We have shown that it is possible to detect these markers by screening a patient’s blood in the ward, a process which can deliver results within two hours. This is an extremely exciting development, and hopefully we can improve recovery rates, but this has the potential to save thousands of lives every year.’ Sepsis costs the NHS more than £2billion a year and occurs when the immune system has a severe overreaction to an infection, attacking organs such as the heart and liver. Sepsis causes fever, inflammation and blood pressure and clotting problems that can lead to multiple organ failure and death . It causes fever, inflammation and blood pressure and clotting problems that can lead to multiple organ failure and death. On its website, the UK Sepsis Trust says healthcare workers have just six hours to deliver a set of interventions like antibiotics and intravenous fluids once the illness strikes. But fewer than one fifth of patients receive this standard of care due to its complexity. The research, published in the journal Public Library of Science ONE, took blood from individuals with sepsis, those with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) – a similar condition that does not respond to antibiotics – and healthy patients. After comparing the samples, they isolated a molecule that was more active in sepsis patients than in the other groups. Medical microbiologist Mark Fielder, of Kingston University London, said: ‘An early intervention in these cases can often result in a much improved result for the patient. ‘With this in mind, any improvements or aids to the diagnosis of such diseases are to be welcomed, especially when the tests are rapid and potentially able to be of use at the point of care.’ Professor Jodi Lindsay, professor of microbial pathogenesis at St George’s, University of London, said: ‘The accurate and rapid diagnosis of sepsis is vitally important and necessary to ensure some of our sickest patients receive the most effective method of treatment. Current methods are not accurate or rapid enough.’
Thousands of lives could be saved by a simple confirm the illness, which has a mortality rate in excess of 40 per cent. But scientists at the NHS more than £2billion a year and occurs