Improving Outcomes in Survivors of Sepsis—The Transition from Secondary to Primary Care, and the Role of Primary Care: A Narrative Review

Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. The number of patients with sepsis requiring critical care admission is increasing. At the same time, overall mortality from sepsis is declining. With increasing survival to hospital discharge, there are an increasing number of sepsis survivors whose care needs shift from the acute to chronic care settings. Recently, the phrase “post-sepsis syndrome” has emerged to encompass the myriad of complications in patients recovering from sepsis. The aim of this narrative review is to provide a contemporary summary of the available literature on post-sepsis care and highlight areas of ongoing research. There are many incentives for improving the quality of survivorship following sepsis, including individual health-related outcomes (e.g., increased survival, enhanced physical and psychological health) and wider socio-economic benefits (e.g., reduced economic burden on the healthcare systems, reduced physical and psychological burden on carers, ability for individuals (and carers) to return to workforce). Modifiable factors influencing long-term outcomes can be in-hospital or after discharge, when primary care physicians play a pivotal role. Despite national and international guidance being available, this area has been under-recognised historically, despite its profoundly negative impact on both patients and their families or caregivers. Contributing factors likely include the lack of a formally recognised “disease” or pathology, the presence of challenging-to-treat symptoms such as fatigue, weakness and cognitive impairment, and the prevailing assumption that ongoing rehabilitation merely requires time. Our review will focus on the following areas: screening for new cognitive and physical impairments; optimisation of pre-existing comorbidities; transition to primary care; and palliative care. Primary care physicians may have a crucial role to play in improving outcomes in sepsis survivors, and candidate interventions include education on common complications of post-sepsis syndrome.