Experts developed the sniffer using patients admitted to the University of Pennsylvania Health System in October 2011. The system uses lab data and information like body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure in the electronic health record to identify patients who are at risk for sepsis. The tool sends an electronic alert to physicians, nurses and other rapid response team members who can evaluate the patient and transfer him or her to the ICU if needed.
A study assessing the tool has been published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine. Researchers compared outcomes from a control period — where data on patients was evaluated and alerts triggered in a database but no notifications were sent to the team — to a period when the tool was implemented in full.
In both of the time periods, 4 percent of patients triggered a sepsis alert from the sniffer. Post-implementation, 90 percent of the patients received evaluations within 30 minutes of the alert. Additionally, implementing the tool had the following results:
- An increase in the administration of antibiotics and intravenous fluids
- An increase of more than 50 percent in the proportion of patients quickly sent to the ICU
- A 50 percent increase in documentation of sepsis in the EHR
- A lower death rate from sepsis
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