Rapid Response System Improves Sepsis Bundle Compliances and Survival in Hospital Wards for 10 Years

Background: Hospitalized patients can develop septic shock at any time. Therefore, it is important to identify septic patients in hospital wards and rapidly perform the optimal treatment. Although the sepsis bundle has already been reported to improve survival rates, the controversy over evidence of the effect of in-hospital sepsis continues to exist. We aimed to estimate the outcomes and bundle compliance of patients with septic shock in hospital wards managed through the rapid response system (RRS). Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 976 patients with septic shock managed through the RRS at an academic, tertiary care hospital in Korea from 2008 to 2017. Results: Of the 976 enrolled patients, the compliance of each sepsis bundle was high (80.8–100.0%), but the overall success rate of the bundle was low (58.3%). The compliance rate for achieving the overall sepsis bundle increased from 26.5% to 70.0%, and the 28-day mortality continuously decreased from 50% to 32.1% over 10 years. We analyzed the two groups according to whether they completed the overall sepsis bundle or not. Of the 976 enrolled patients, 569 (58.3%) sepsis bundles were completed, whereas 407 (41.7%) were incomplete. The complete bundle group showed lower 28-day mortality than the incomplete bundle group (37.1% vs. 53.6%, p < 0.001). In the multivariate multiple logistic regression model, the 28-day mortality was significantly associated with the complete bundle (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.61; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.40–0.91; p = 0.017). The obtaining of blood cultures (adjusted OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.33–0.63; p < 0.001) and lactate re-measurement (adjusted OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.50–0.95; p = 0.024) in each component of the sepsis bundle were associated with the 28-day mortality. Conclusions: The rapid response system provides improving sepsis bundle compliances and survival in patients with septic shock in hospital wards.