A recent study showed that those who survive sepsis, especially younger patients, had a substantially increased risk of seizures long after discharge from the hospital. Dr. Michael Reznik of the Columbia University Medical Center did the study. The analysis of 850,000 discharges in three large states, with up to eight years of follow-up, found that there was a five-fold increase in risk of seizures in those who had sepsis.

This increase in risk was noted in the analysis of Medicare records for patients older than 65, but the increase was also found to be more marked in those younger than age 65. The study used data from detailed administrative claims for hospital discharges in California, New York, and Florida. The findings, along with previous medical studies, point to sepsis as a major potential to cause brain damage. According to Dr. Reznik, the results of the study may led to “future research to study the specific pathways and risk factors that lead to seizures following sepsis, and whether protective interventions or strategies could be developed.”

As in many such medical studies, there are limitations to the analysis. It relies on administrative codes, which may be completed differently in different institutions. In addition, there may be possible presence of other neuropathologies not noted in charts. Finally, recent sepsis patients may be monitored more closely than others, and therefore seizures would be more likely to be noted.