Mortality Due to Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock

Definition

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign has set a target reduction in overall mortality due to severe sepsis and septic shock of 25 percent over 5 years.  This measure will allow you to judge how well your institution is performing in achieving that goal.

The measure is defined as the percent of cases of death due to severe sepsis and septic shock.

Numerator: The number of cases of death due to severe sepsis and septic shock

Denominator: The total number of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock

Exclusion: Non-severe sepsis

Goal

Decrease mortality due to severe sepsis and septic shock by 25 percent over 5 years.

Data Collection Plan

Data is collected for this measure on each individual patient using the Individual Chart Measurement Tool.  This can be done concurrently or retrospectively as detailed here.

Once all the Individual Chart Measurement Tools have been collected for the month, use the Monthly Measurement Worksheet to integrate the data by combining the results of all the Individual Chart Measurement Tools.

At the end of each section on the Monthly Measurement Worksheet you will find a line designated “Numerator” and a line designated “Denominator,” which are ready for input into the pre-configured Improvement Tracker for the measure.

Sample Graph

Use Improvement Tracker to enter, save, and graph your team's data.