A newly established UK partnership between charity Sepsis Research FEAT and the James Lind Alliance (JLA) has identified the top 10 research priorities that will shape the future of sepsis treatment and care, with the goal of saving tens of thousands of lives each year.

The identified priorities will guide research funding and efforts, ensuring that resources are directed towards the areas that will make the biggest difference in fighting sepsis.

Professor Bronwen Connolly from Queen's University Belfast was clinical co-lead for the project, working alongside Professor Joanne McPeake from the University of Cambridge, and Professor Naz Lone from the University of Edinburgh.

Sepsis, a life-threatening condition triggered by the body’s extreme response to infection, kills around 50,000 people annually in the UK—more than bowel, breast, and prostate cancer combined.

Despite modern advancements in medicine, sepsis remains a formidable challenge, costing the NHS an estimated £1.1 billion per year, with societal costs soaring to £10 billion. Despite these staggering figures, research into sepsis has often overlooked the questions that matter most to those affected by the condition.

To address this gap, Sepsis Research FEAT and the James Lind Alliance launched the Sepsis Research Priority Setting Partnership in the spring of 2023. The initiative, one of the largest of its kind, brought together over 1700 participants, including sepsis survivors, their families, carers and healthcare professionals to identify the most urgent research priorities. These findings will now guide future research funding and efforts to ensure meaningful progress in sepsis diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

The James Lind Alliance (JLA) above

Commenting on the announcement, clinical co-lead for the project, Professor Bronwen Connolly, Professor of Critical Care from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, said: “The work that Sepsis Research FEAT is doing in leading this JLA priority setting partnership for sepsis is invaluable and transformational.

"Findings from this PSP will change the landscape of research into sepsis over the course of the next decade and beyond, supporting delivery of evidence-based clinical practice, and ultimately improving the outcomes for patients and their families who experience this terrible illness.”

Joint clinical co-lead, Professor Joanne McPeake of The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute at the University of Cambridge, said: "This project ensures that future research is focused on what truly matters—saving lives and improving recovery for sepsis patients. We worked closely with the sepsis community to ensure that the priorities we’ve identified are the ones that will make the biggest difference.”

Joint clinical co-lead, Professor Nazir Lone of the University of Edinburgh, said: “We have worked closely with people who have survived sepsis, their family members, and front-line NHS clinicians to identify the priorities for future sepsis research. These priorities highlight the issues around this potentially fatal condition and will encourage more research, now that we have a clear direction for sepsis research.”

Chief Operating Officer of Sepsis Research FEAT, Colin Graham, emphasised the impact of this initiative describing the finding of the project as “a significant step forward in the charity’s mission to reduce the devastating impact of sepsis in the UK. By focusing on these top 10 priorities, we can drive real change in how sepsis is treated and understood, ultimately saving lives and improving outcomes for survivors."

Over 700 people, including survivors, family members, and healthcare professionals, participated in an initial survey to identify unanswered questions about sepsis. After rigorous analysis, a shortlist was formed and further refined in a second survey involving nearly 1,000 participants. The final top 10 priorities were determined during a workshop that brought together a diverse group of sepsis survivors, carers, and clinical experts.

The top 10 priorities address critical questions, including how to improve the accuracy and speed of diagnosis, explore alternatives to antibiotics and investigate the long-term effects of sepsis, often referred to as post-sepsis syndrome.

As a life-threatening condition that can affect anyone, sepsis often progresses rapidly, leading to death or life-altering consequences for survivors - such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or amputations.

Caroline Coster from Bedfordshire had sepsis as a result of Covid-19 in March 2020. Now a quadruple amputee and passionate advocate for sepsis awareness, she says of her involvement in the sepsis priority setting partnership (PSP): “I think it is so important that sepsis survivors and other people with experience of it have been given a chance to influence research through this initiative.

"Since I experienced sepsis, I have always said that I would do anything I could to stop this happening to other people. Being involved in the PSP has given me control in an otherwise uncontrollable situation.”