One in seven sepsis cases resulted in a hospital death in 2022-23, according to a new report revealing sepsis is more prevalent and deadly than previously understood.

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care investigated the “sepsis patient journey”, when a person is admitted to a public hospital with sepsis in Australia .

More than 900,000 sepsis-related hospital admissions were analysed from public hospital between 2013-14 and 2022-23.

Among the key findings were the impacts of complex pre-existing conditions on sepsis risk. In 2022-23, one in three people in hospital for sepsis also had diabetes, and one in six had kidney disease or cancer.

Three in four admissions were from the emergency department, and one in four admissions had a stint in intensive care.

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