Systematisk journalgranskning i Skåne. Diagnoskoder var ofta fel vid svår sepsis och septisk chock
Sammanfattning
The reliability of official registers of diagnosis depends on proper adherence to guidelines for diagnosis and diagnosis coding. Such guidelines for severe sepsis and
septic shock have changed over the years, reflecting improved knowledge of these serious conditions.
In order to investigate the compliance to current Swedish guidelines for diagnosis and coding of severe sepsis and septic shock, we studied the medical records from 300
patients with Escherichia coli bacteremia and 300 patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. Our study showed that out of 161 patients who fulfilled the criteria for
either severe sepsis or septic shock, only 29 (18%) received an accurate diagnosis code.
Thus, severe sepsis appears to be underappreciated in official registers of diagnosis in Sweden. It is important to improve the adherence to the present diagnosis
guidelines in order for the registers to be reliable.