A patient may be hospitalized for many different conditions that do not involve sepsis. Unfortunately, while there it is not unusual for him or her to develop a Hospital-Acquired Infection (HAI). And without vigilant monitoring, those infections can turn into sepsis and death. Sadly, sepsis misdiagnosis in hospitals occurs regularly, leading to thousands of deaths annually in the US.

Why does sepsis misdiagnosis occur in hospitals? There are many factors. Here are several:

First, it is important to note that hospitalized patients may be particularly susceptible to developing infections and have difficulty fighting them. This can include, particularly, patients with underlying health conditions such as diabetes or conditions that compromise the immune system (such as cancer patients receiving chemotherapy).

Second, hospitalized patients can have more pathways to develop sepsis. Such patients can have IV access, or central lines that connect directly to a patient’s vascular system. These are paths bacteria can quickly take into the patient’s blood stream.

Third, oftentimes the bacteria that might cause sepsis may be more likely to be resistant to antibiotics in a hospital setting, such as MRSA or vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus.

Fourth, providers treating such patients may not have sepsis on their radar, particularly if the patient is hospitalized for an unrelated issue, such as post-operative recovery. Without vigilant monitoring of a patient’s vital signs and symptoms suggestive of sepsis (including a change in mental status), delays in diagnosing and treating it may result in death or serious injury.

Certainly, there are other reasons sepsis misdiagnosis occurs in hospitals. Bluntly, if a patient should be monitored but isn’t, or a patient has signs and symptoms that should prompt a reasonable doctor to investigate and diagnose sepsis, and that patient dies or suffers serious injury, such a scenario could give rise to a viable claim for medical malpractice.