Impact of a multidisciplinary sepsis huddle in the emergency department

Sepsis is a leading cause of death in hospitals requiring prompt recognition and treatment. The sepsis bundle is the cornerstone of sepsis treatment. Studies have evaluated the impact of a sepsis huddle on sepsis bundle compliance but not in sepsis identification. Measure the effect of a multidisciplinary sepsis bedside huddle in the Emergency Department (ED) on sepsis identification and sepsis bundle compliance. Retrospective, single-center, cohort study. Pre-huddle patients were identified via Best Practice Advisory (BPA) alert on the electronic medical record from 11/01/2019–3/31/2020. The post-huddle group were patients for whom a sepsis huddle was activated from 11/01/2020–3/31/2021. 116 patients met inclusion criteria and 15 were determined to not have sepsis for a total of 21 pre-huddle and 80 post-huddle patients. Comparing pre-post results, sepsis huddle increased code sepsis activation (10% vs 91%, p < 0.001); sepsis bundle compliance (24% vs 80%, p < 0.001); antibiotics within one hour (33% vs 90%, p < 0.001); culture within one hour (67% vs 95%, p < 0.001), order entry