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Djillali Annane |
Sepsis is a major public health problem that remains largely unknown among lay people. Its annual incidence approximates 300 per 100,000 in-habitants in most countries worldwide. Its short term mortality ranges from 15 to 30%. In the long-term, sepsis continues to kill people with a mortality around 50% at one year and even up to 80% at 5 years. Moreover, about one out of two survivors may develop in the long term neuromuscular weakness and cognitive decline. The neuropsychological sequels of sepsis may place an unprecedented burden to health care systems worldwide.
After three decades of efforts from both academic researchers and pharmaceutical industries, the mechanisms by which severe infection may acutely disrupt body homeostasis, result in multiple organs dysfunction and failure, sequels and eventually may cause death, remain poorly described. Subsequently, interventions to prevent organs’ damage, sequels and death remain very limited, and the microbial resistance to anti-infectious agents comes to complicate even more the treatment.
In recent years, the scientific community has raised considerable efforts to harmonize the care of patients with sepsis and to highlight the remaining gaps in the understandings of sepsis management – this is the main aim of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign and of the Consortium formed by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Society of Critical Care Medicine, which worked on the new international definitions of Sepsis in 2016.
The recent CRICS-TRIGGERSEP application success at the French branch of the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (F-CRIN) grant award, is a first step of a larger health authority recognition for the funding needs for the sepsis research. The resolution adopted by the delegates of the World Health Assembly on 26 of May 2017 in Geneva aims to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Sepsis. This is a clear recognition of Sepsis as well as the phenomena of microbial resistance to anti-infective agents, as a major public health risk globaly, which should lead to the realization of the mobilization in favor of Sepsis research.
Needless to say that this increased sepsis interest from public authorities and lay people will stimulate and renew the enthusiasm for industry-driven research on sepsis innovative therapies.
CRICS-TRIGGERSEP actors have at this point a major responsibility in reinforcing the public health authorities’ confidence in the public utility of supporting sepsis research.