More than 15,000 cases of sepsis recorded in 2016

More than one in 100 patients attending an emergency department (ED) in Ireland is affected by the life-threatening condition of either severe sepsis or septic shock, new research has found.

Despite its potentially fatal consequences, and the central role the ED plays in its early identification, its prevalence in Irish EDs has not been measured until now.

There were more than 15,000 recorded cases of sepsis in the country in 2016, resulting in 3,000 deaths.