Findings presented at the Society of Critical Care Medicine annual meeting show that, among 3.9 million pediatric hospitalizations across Epic Cosmos and HCA Healthcare systems, 1.3% met the Pediatric Sepsis Event (PSE) definition—representing 51,542 cases with a mean age of 6.6 years, 44.3% of whom were female. Most cases were community‑onset (72.6%), and 61.6% involved septic shock. In‑hospital mortality reached 10.1%, and sepsis was present in 17.8% of hospitalizations that resulted in death. National estimates for 2022 indicated 18,231 cases and 1,877 deaths, with no significant change in incidence or mortality from 2016–2022. The PSE definition demonstrated 69.9% sensitivity and 93.1% specificity, outperforming administrative codes in sensitivity and providing comparable specificity.
Clinical takeaway: The validated EHR‑based PSE framework may help clinicians and health systems better identify at‑risk children and direct timely, organ‑supportive care.
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