Why is Septomics performing sepsis translational research?

Sepsis continues to represent one of the greatest challenges for medicine and health economics. Despite this, multiple problems exist regarding the definitve identification of the pathogen, the interpretation of symptoms and laboratory data as well as the treatment of the condition.

Early diagnosis is important but difficult

The early diagnosis of sepsis remains difficult , as the symptoms are very unspecific. Therefore, in the beginning, sepsis is frequently misdiagnosed and only treated effectively at a late stage. Also, the identification of the pathogen is time-consuming and complicated.

However, the patient's survival depends greatly on an early sepsis diagnosis, a fast and a precise identification of the pathogen and an individual therapy. For with every hour an antibiotic therapy is not initiated, the risk of death due to sepsis rises.

Sepsis diagnosis: difficult and often toto late

The number of sepsis cases continues to increase

Since the 1980s, more and more citizens predominantly of industrial countries suffer from sepsis. The ageing society and the application of advanced medicine in extreme age groups are suspected of contributing to this increase. In most cases, bacterial infections are the triggering cause; especially multi-resistant pathogens are becoming increasingly important. However, fungal infections are also increasing in significance.

Sepsis cases: Number increases continously

Sepsis treatment is expensive

The average treatment costs for sepsis in Germany according to estimates by the Federal Insurances Office in 2013 were 27,500 €. Sepsis treatment costs approx. 7.7 billion euros for the inpatient and subsequent outpatient treatment of sepsis consequences2.

Worldwide, there is a strong demand for new products to diagnose and treat sepsis. To meet this demand, it is essential to gain a better understanding of the disease on the molecular level. Thus, an effective research strategy must adopt an integrated approach aimed at achieving

  • an improved prophylaxis
  • a more rapid diagnosis of the infection and the pathogen, allowing doctors to start a targeted therapy immediately and
  • innovative therapeutics, which act directly on the host response, thus limiting the extent of organ damage.

Septomics' research work lays the foundation for achieving these goals.