Smart Hospital Discharges to Address a Neglected Epidemic in Sepsis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

As many children die shortly after hospital discharge following in-hospital treatment for sepsis as during hospital admission.1Postdischargemortality is an acute problem in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), which are plagued by large numbers of socioeconomically disadvantaged children served with limited resources in congested and non-resilient health care systems. Post discharge deaths are largely ignored despite concerted efforts to address child mortality worldwide during the United Nations (UN) Millennium Declaration era in which member states committed to decreasing mortality for those younger than 5 years by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. Infectious diseases account for approximately half of childhood deaths, and sepsis is the final common pathway leading to most of these deaths. Although decreases in mortality were substantial, approximately 18 000deaths still occur daily, mostly from preventable causes, with the major burden being in sub- Saharan Africa and southern Asia.