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. 2018 Oct 28;22(1):273.
doi: 10.1186/s13054-018-2208-5.

Determinants of sepsis knowledge: a representative survey of the elderly population in Germany

Sarah Eitze  1 , Carolin Fleischmann-Struzek  2 , Cornelia Betsch  3 , Konrad Reinhart  2   4 ; vaccination60+ study group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Determinants of sepsis knowledge: a representative survey of the elderly population in Germany

Sarah Eitze et al. Crit Care. .

Abstract

Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency requiring early diagnosis and urgent treatment. Knowledge is crucial, especially in major risk groups such as the elderly. We therefore assessed sophisticated knowledge about sepsis in the German elderly population.

Methods: A telephone survey was carried out with a representative sample of 701 Germans from 16 federal states and a separate cohort of 700 participants from Thuringia, all aged ≥ 60 years. Sepsis knowledge was assessed via a 10-item questionnaire. Sociodemographic data and health information sources were assessed to identify determinants of sepsis knowledge.

Results: Of the participants, 88.6% had heard the term "sepsis" before; however, 50% of these failed to define sepsis correctly. Even if the knowledge of symptoms was moderately good, most participants could not correctly identify causes of sepsis and underestimated its incidence. Only a minority was aware that immunization may prevent sepsis. Regressions revealed that being younger, better educated and living in rural areas predicted higher levels of sepsis knowledge. Pharmacists were a relevant source of sepsis information.

Conclusions: Despite overall awareness of sepsis, the understanding of its risk factors, symptoms and prevention is low in the elderly, with important implications for emergency and intensive care. We suggest further educational measures to improve early sepsis recognition and prevention through vaccination.

Keywords: Elderly; Healthcare education; Knowledge; Sepsis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

As this survey is part of the project vaccination 60+, IRB approval was obtained from the University of Erfurt (No 17/05/29).

Informed consent was obtained by the interviewer. Participation could be abandoned at any time.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

CF-S receives grants from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) via the Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC; FKZ: 01EO1002 and 01EO1502). KR is a paid advisor of Adrenomed Henningsdorf/Berlin and is unpaid chair of the Global Sepsis Alliance which received funds for BRAHMS/Thermofisher, CSL Behring, Becton-Dickinson and Biomerieux; he receives grants from BMBF via the Center for Sepsis Control and Care. SE and CB declare that they have no competing interests.

The following members of the vaccination60+ Group declare competing interests: C Forstner and MW Pletz are partly supported by a grant from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research KliFo 2.0 (grant number 01KI1501). All other members of the Vaccination 60+ Group have no competing interests to declare.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of sample recruitment in Thuringian and nationwide surveys. Final response rates for samples were 2.2%
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Nationwide distribution of sepsis knowledge about influenza as a possible origin. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Thuringian distribution of sepsis knowledge about influenza as a possible origin. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Nationwide distribution of sepsis knowledge about lung inflammation as a possible origin. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Thuringian distribution of sepsis knowledge about lung inflammation as a possible origin. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Nationwide distribution of most prominent myth about sepsis. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Thuringian distribution of most prominent myth about sepsis. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Nationwide distribution of correct definition of sepsis. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Thuringian distribution of correct definition of sepsis. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Nationwide distribution of awareness of sepsis prevention. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 11
Fig. 11
Thuringian distribution of awareness of sepsis prevention. Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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