Early Sepsis Detection Via Non-Invasive Imaging Tests Is Vital

New Delhi: Canadian researchers have in a study on Wednesday revealed the potential of a non-invasive strategy to detect sepsis early.

Sepsis is a dysregulated response to infection that can result in life-threatening organ failure if treatment is delayed. Often clinicians lack methods for early detection of the life-threatening emergency which claims millions of lives globally each year.

Researchers from the Western University, in Ontario, Canada, showed that non-invasive imaging tests that can assess blood flow through skeletal muscle may help in early detection.

“The study suggests that while the brain is partly protected in early sepsis, the skeletal muscle could be an early target for detecting changes in microhemodynamics,” said the team in the paper published in The FASEB Journal.

Currently, sepsis is managed by early administration of antibiotics and vasopressors. These medications help manage the infection and systemic hypotension (low blood pressure) and help increase the survival rate. However, there is currently a lack of tools that are sensitive to the onset of sepsis to recognise the condition and triage patients for early intervention.

Thus, there is a global need for accessible technology (i.e., non-invasive, preferably frugal, point-of-care) to guide early sepsis identification and intervention, said the team.

In the study, the team used imaging methods -- called hyperspectral near-infrared spectroscopy and diffuse correlation spectroscopy -- commonly used at the bedside to monitor tissue conditions.