Exploration of pre-hospital patient delays in seeking care for symptoms of bacteremia and sepsis: A qualitative study.
Felicia Ruffin, Elizabeth Van Horn, Susan Letvak and 1 others
PMID 36480356WHAT IT FOUND
Ten sepsis survivors delayed care by misattributing symptoms to chronic conditions or self-treating with home remedies.
Family members often prompted hospital visits when patients were confused. Patients relied on inconsistent provider explanations and internet searches, leading to dangerous gaps in symptom recognition.
Key findings
01Participants frequently mislabeled sepsis symptoms as recurrences of chronic conditions like heart failure or arthritis, delaying care until they realized standard home management failed.
02Family members played a pivotal role in recognizing seriousness and prompting care, particularly when patients were delirious or confused.
03Self-medication and 'wait and see' strategies were common, with more than half experiencing prolonged delays due to attempting to manage symptoms at home.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Small sample size (n=10) from a single US site limits generalizability. Recall bias is likely as interviews occurred up to six months post-diagnosis. Participants struggled to attribute experiences specifically to bacteremia/sepsis due to comorbidities and lack of awareness. Selection bias possible due to convenience sampling of survivors who could participate.
Declared interests
No conflict of interest declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the themes as evidence that specific educational interventions reduce delays; this study describes patient experiences and perceptions but did not test any intervention. The findings are limited to 10 survivors from one US hospital and may not apply to other populations or healthcare systems.