Life After Sepsis: What Survivors Should Know
World Sepsis Day on September 13 draws attention to a life-threatening disease that is still underestimated by many people. Surviving sepsis does not mean that the course of the illness is over for many people: physical, psychological, or cognitive consequences often continue to shape everyday life for a long time. Understanding and treating these long-term consequences more effectively is also a focus of research at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology.
When the Sepsis Is (Not) Over
For many survivors, the burden does not end with discharge from hospital. Fatigue, muscle weakness, problems with concentration, pain, or psychological distress can make the return to everyday life more difficult. These long-term consequences are referred to as post-sepsis syndrome and can persist for months or even years.
How these consequences can be better understood and detected as early as possible is one of the key questions addressed by the research project BEATsepsis, in which the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology is also involved.
Understanding Your Own Recovery Process
Recovery after severe sepsis can vary considerably from person to person. Some people regain their strength within a few weeks, while others need significantly longer. In addition to physical symptoms, problems with concentration and memory, as well as anxiety and depressive moods, may also occur.
A particular problem is that many of these symptoms remain invisible in treatment. Those affected often do not know themselves what is happening to them, are unable to make sense of their symptoms, and not infrequently experience that their complaints are not taken seriously – sometimes even by healthcare professionals. One of the aims of BEATsepsis is therefore to make the invisible measurable and to provide an objective basis for diagnosis and understanding. Until this goal is achieved, however, one thing remains crucial: raising broad public awareness. The scientists involved are committed to this through school workshops, lectures – for example at the Vienna Planetarium – as well as podcasts and radio programmes. They have, for example, contributed to the Fasynation podcast, the Ö1 program Dimensionen and Aftershock – still aLive.
🎧 Listen to the podcasts here:
Finding Support – and Not Being Alone
Surviving sepsis is a crucial step that 20% of patients do not make it through. For those who survive, however, a new phase of recovery begins afterwards. Knowing about possible consequences, taking changes seriously, and seeking support in good time can help people navigate this process more effectively.
An important part of recovery is exchange with others. As part of VIENNA PICS on LinkedIn, scientists and clinical experts have joined forces to better understand the long-term consequences following an intensive care stay and to further develop follow-up care.
The self-help group ReSTART also emerged from this network, providing former intensive care patients and their relatives with an opportunity to exchange experiences. The monthly online peer group gives people affected throughout Austria the opportunity to share their experiences and support one another. Contact: crre@ivraancvpf.ng
The more we know about the consequences of sepsis and the more visible they become, the better those affected can understand their own recovery process and find support. Research, education, and increasingly integrated aftercare contribute to ensuring that those affected are seen and taken seriously in their experiences.
