“Post-sepsis syndrome … is marked by a significantly increased risk of death and a poor health-related quality of life associated with a constellation of long-term effects that persist following the patient’s bout with sepsis. These include neurocognitive impairment, functional disability, psychological deficits, and worsening medical conditions,” states Dr. Zachary Mostel, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

What did Dr. Mostel report in “Post-sepsis syndrome-an evolving entity that afflicts survivors of sepsis” in Molecular Medicine (2020) 26:6?

“Experts estimate that 25 to 50% of survivors of severe sepsis show considerable cognitive impairment. Problems with memory, learning, concentrating, and decision-making affect the daily lives of patients, their caregivers, and their families.

Severe sepsis was associated with a 10.6 percentage point increase in the prevalence of moderate to severe cognitive impairment among survivors. The worsening cognitive function in sepsis survivors was found to continue for at least 8 years.

Patients have been found to suffer ongoing psychological issues … These negative emotional outcomes include anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The physical morbidity includes … neuromuscular dysfunction (neuropathy, myopathy, and dysphagia), heterotrophic ossification, frozen joints, pulmonary dysfunction, tracheostomy issues, and compression neuropathy.”

Read Dr. Mostel’s article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s10020-019-0132-z

Greg Vigna, MD, JD, national pharmaceutical injury attorney, “I managed hospital acquired bloodstream infections caused by central-lines, PICCs, and midlines. Line sepsis will take a patient off their normal course of recovery and send them to an abyss. Amputations, multi-system organ failure, and critical illness polyneuropathy are those that passive observers can see. Post-sepsis syndrome is much more common and is a silent struggle for those who have suffered from sepsis.”

Dr. Vigna continues, “Hospital acquired bloodstream infections lead to significantly increased risks of long-term sepsis sequalae. One third of hospital acquired bloodstream infections are caused by central-lines, PICCs, and midlines caused by polyurethane and silicone PICC lines which are defective products because there are safer materials that reduce the risk of infection. Shamefully, this technology has been available for over a decade. Device manufacturers have chosen profits over patient safety and that is not acceptable.”

What is sepsis? Multiple organ damage from inflammation due to infection that may result in organ damage to the brain, kidney, heart, liver, and lung.

What is septic shock? A life-threatening condition that caused dangerously low blood pressure because of infection that may result in amputations of fingers and toes, brain damage, kidney failure, ventilator dependence, oxygen dependence, and nerve damage.

Dr. Vigna concludes, “We are investigating hospital acquired bloodstream infections caused by PICC lines and other central lines due to the old, outdated polyurethane and silicone designs. Sepsis and septic shock are serious complications from PICC lines and central lines that affect neonates, children, and adults of all age. Hospital acquired central line infections will take a patient off their expected trajectory of improvement to outcomes that are not acceptable.”

Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who represents those with serious injuries caused by defective medical devices including PICC line, midlines, central lines, and MedPorts. He represents the injured with the Ben Martin Law Group, a national pharmaceutical injury law firm in Dallas, Texas. The attorneys are product liability and medical malpractice attorneys, and they represent the most injured across the country and have alliances with attorneys across the country to prosecute these product liability cases.