Infection-related hospital readmissions after surviving sepsis: A retrospective population level study of adult sepsis survivors in Australia
An erratum to this article was published (J Crit Care, Oct 2026 ↗)
Authors' conclusion
Early and unexpected hospital readmissions are common in Australian sepsis survivors with almost 15% returning to hospital through the ED within 30 days, a third of which were for another sepsis or infection event.
Study context
- Population
- Adult sepsis survivors with an index hospital admission between Jan 1, 2015, and Jan 31, 2021, in any hospital in New South Wales, Australia
- Participants
- 125,370 survivors
- Outcome
- All-cause, sepsis or infection readmission through the ED
- Follow-up
- 30 days
Methodological detailspopulation level, multivariable logistic regression
- Population level
- Multivariable logistic regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
All-cause readmission through the ED
All-cause readmission through the emergency department (ED), n (%)
18,731
14.9%
Readmissions with a sepsis diagnosis, n (%)
1910
10.2%
Readmissions with an infection diagnosis, n (%)
4790
25.6%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
Risk factors for sepsis or infection-related readmission within 30 days
- Higher risk: male sex, not being married, and chronic pulmonary disease, liver disease, diabetes, renal disease, malignancies, or malignant tumour comorbidities
- Lower risk: aged 16-44 years (vs >85 years), inner regional areas (vs major cities), least socioeconomically disadvantaged area (vs most), and MI, cerebrovascular disease, or peptic ulcer disease comorbidities
Original publication
Infection-related hospital readmissions after surviving sepsis: A retrospective population level study of adult sepsis survivors in Australia. J Crit Care. Published 23 January 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →