
Digital Alerts for Sepsis: a Qualitative Study
SepsisSepsis is a serious disease, most often caused by a bacterial infection, and can be treated with antibiotics. Identifying patients with sepsis as early as possible means treatment with antibiotics can be started earlier. To identify patients who may have sepsis, measurements such as high or low temperature and fast breathing rate are used to create a score showing the possibility of sepsis. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in hospitals contain the information needed to create a score and can alert a doctor or nurse that a patient may have sepsis. Research has shown that more patients get antibiotics earlier because of hospitals using this type of digital alert. Different hospitals have used different methods to create a score and use different types of digital alerts. This research wants to find out what hospital doctors and nurses think about digital alerts for sepsis and how they use them. The investigators also want to find out what patients who have had sepsis think about hospitals using these digital alerts. Understanding how these digital alerts are used and how they affect patient care can help see how they could be used better so patients can benefit.

Smart Discharges for Mom & Baby
Maternal SepsisNeonatal SepsisThis study aims to build a predictive algorithm that identifies mother-newborn dyads most at risk of death or complications in the 6 weeks after birth. The investigators will conduct a multi-site cohort study with 7,000 dyads in Uganda and engage with local stakeholders (e.g., patients, healthcare workers, and health policy-makers) to develop an evidence-based bundle of interventions that address key practice gaps and the critical factors leading to death and complications in these dyads. In the investigator's epidemiological study of post-delivery post-discharge outcomes in 3,236 dyads in Uganda (2017-2020), results indicated that most newborn and maternal readmissions were due to infectious illness (i.e. sepsis, surgical site infections, malaria), and primarily occurred early in the post-discharge period. Thus, the focus of this study will be identifying interventions that target these common and early outcomes, for both mothers and newborns, using WHO recommendations, patient and caregiver experiences, and stakeholder recommendations. If successful, results will inform the next steps of this project, which is the external validation of the model and clinical evaluation of a personalized approach to improving health outcomes and health-seeking behaviour for mothers and newborns.

Pulmonary Artery Doppler And Neonatal Outcome In Hypertensive Disorders Of Pregnancy
Hypertension in PregnancyTo correlate fetal Pulmonary artery Doppler parameters with neonatal outcome in patients diagnosed with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Optimal Blood Pressure Treatment Thresholds Postpartum
Hypertensive Disorder of PregnancyPre-Eclampsia10 moreThe objective of this research project is to conduct a single-site pilot trial within our institution's clinical remote blood pressures (BP) management program to assess the feasibility and effect of tight blood pressure control versus usual care in the immediate postpartum period after a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP). The investigators' central hypothesis is that tight blood pressure control will be feasible and acceptable to postpartum individuals and will result in lower BP at six months postpartum and a reduction in postpartum hospital readmissions. Subjects will undergo 3 study visits (1 in-person and 2 remote) involving BP measurements, blood draws, and/or questionnaires. Up to 60 adult subjects will be enrolled at Magee-Women's Hospital.

Comparison of the Efficacy of Paracetamol and Ibuprofen in the Management of Fever in Sepsis Patients...
SepsisAcetaminophen2 moreThis is a randomized double-blind controlled study with the primary aim of scientifically evaluating the potential effects of paracetamol and ibuprofen in the management of sepsis by comparing their fever-reducing efficacy in septic patients. Sepsis is recognized as a severe form of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) characterized by organ dysfunction resulting from severe infections. This study aims to address a significant aspect of fever management in septic patients by objectively assessing the fever-reducing potential of paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Safety, Tolerability and Performance of the NucleoCapture Device in the Reduction of Circulating...
SepsisRespiratory FailureThis is a prospective, multinational, multicentre, randomised, parallel-group, open-label study to assess the safety, tolerability and performance of the NucleoCapture extracorporeal apheresis device in the reduction of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA)/Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) in sepsis patients.

Performance of Interleukin-27 Cord Blood Level as A Biomarker Predicating Early Onset Neonatal Sepsis...
Neonatal SepsisEarly-OnsetNeonatal sepsis still considered as one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity during the neonatal period due to high vulnerability of that age group. The blood culture is considered as the gold standard for diagnosis of bacterial sepsis, however in early onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) the inability to isolate a microbial pathogen does not exclude sepsis. The reason behind the high number of culture-negative cases is not clear and might be attributed to low levels of bacteremia or small volumes of blood obtained from sick infants. Also maternal antibiotic treatment before or during delivery may theoretically mask detection of bacteremia in the newborn. In addition these cultures have a 48-72 hours delay to obtain results. Therefore, the combination of clinical assessment and laboratory biomarkers currently are the bases for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. Recently interleukin-27 (IL-27) has been looked at as another candidate biomarker in the serum for diagnosis of sepsis in both adult and children. Interleukin-27 (IL-27), a novel member of the IL-12 family, was first discovered in 2002. IL- 27 is primarily synthesized by antigen-presenting cells, and it is widely expressed in a myriad of cells, including placental trophoblast cells. Although multiple studies have reported IL-27 as an essential regulator of immune response and inflammation, its precise role in the immune response is still disputable. Conventionally, IL-27 has been envisaged as a potent promoter of inflammation. When first discovered, it was characterized as a promoting factor in the rapid initiation of inflammatory responses, processing the ability to stimulate the rapid expansion of naïve CD4+T and then the production of IFN-?, which has been demonstrated by various subsequent studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usage of elevated IL-27 in cord blood as an early predictor biomarker for EONS.

Biomarker-enhanced Artificial Intelligence Based Pediatric Sepsis Screening Tool
SepsisThe overall objective of this proposed research is the derivation of a biomarker-enhanced artificial intelligence (AI)-based pediatric sepsis screening tool (PSCT) (software) that can be used in combination with the hospital's electronic health record (EHR) system to monitor and assess real-time emergency department (ED) electronic health record (EHR) data towards the enhancement of early pediatric sepsis recognition and the initiation of timely, aggressive personalized sepsis therapy known to improve patient outcomes. It is hypothesized that the screening performance (e.g., positive predictive value) of the envisioned screening tool will be significantly enhanced by the inclusion of a biomarker panel test results (PERSEVERE) that have been shown to be effective in prediction of clinical deterioration in non-critically ill immunocompromised pediatric patients evaluated for infection. It is also hypothesized that enhanced phenotypes can be derived by clustering PERSEVERE biomarkers combined with routinely collected EHR data towards improved personalized medicine.

Effects of Code Sepsis Implementation on Emergency Department (ED) Sepsis Care
SepsisSepsis is a life-threatening complication of infection that can be difficult to recognize and treat promptly. Timely administration of antibiotics for emergency department (ED) patients with sepsis is challenging. The goal of this study is to determine the potential effectiveness and unintended consequences of reorganizing ED care for patients with suspected sepsis.

Implementation and Effectiveness of Engagement and Collaborative Management to Proactively Advance...
SepsisThe purpose of this study is to evaluate if implementation of the Sepsis Transition and Recovery (STAR) program within a large healthcare system will improve outcomes for high-risk patients with suspected sepsis, while concurrently examining contextual factors related to STAR program delivery within routine care to generate knowledge of best practices for implementation and dissemination of post sepsis transitions of care. To address persistent morbidity and mortality for sepsis survivors, Atrium Health developed the Sepsis Treatment and Recovery (STAR) program which uses a nurse navigator to deliver a bundle of best-practice care elements for the delivery of longitudinal post-sepsis care for up to 90 days. These care elements are directed towards the specific challenges and sequelae following a sepsis hospitalization and include: 1) identification and treatment of new physical, mental, and cognitive deficits; 2) review and adjustment of medications; 3) surveillance of treatable conditions that commonly lead to poor outcomes including chronic conditions that may de-stabilize during sepsis and recovery; and 4) focus on palliative care when appropriate. ENCOMPASS (Engagement and Collaborative Management to Proactively Advance Sepsis Survivorship) is an effectiveness-implementation hybrid type I trial, with the evaluation designed as a two-arm, pragmatic, stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial conducted at eight regional hospitals in which each participating hospital begins in a usual care control phase and transitions to the STAR program intervention in a randomly assigned sequence. Patients are allocated to receive the treatment condition (i.e., usual care or STAR) assigned to their admission hospital at time of enrollment. ENCOMPASS will test the hypothesis that patients who receive care through the STAR program will have reduced mortality and hospital readmission assessed 90 days post index hospital discharge compared to patients who receive usual care.