National Estimates of Pediatric Sepsis in US Hospitals Using Clinical Data

The authors aimed to estimate the national incidence, mortality, and trends of pediatric sepsis in the U.S. using a Pediatric Sepsis Event (PSE) definition based on electronic health record (EHR) data, as traditional surveillance methods relying on administrative codes are often inaccurate. Their findings revealed a sepsis incidence of 1.3% among pediatric hospitalizations, with an in-hospital mortality rate of 10.1%, indicating that over 18,000 cases and 1,877 deaths occur annually, with no significant changes in incidence or mortality from 2016 to 2022. The PSE definition demonstrated strong validity, offering a more reliable method for identifying pediatric sepsis compared to existing administrative coding systems.