Setting a Gold Standard in Sepsis Diagnosis

A New Sepsis Test Based on LSU and Our Lady of the Lake Health Research Is Saving Lives and Costs

Sepsis is the leading cause of death in hospitals nationwide, and Louisiana has the highest mortality rates in the nation.

Sepsis is more deadly than opioid overdoses, breast cancer and prostate cancer combined, and is the leading cause of hospital admission and readmission. It’s also one of the most difficult diseases to diagnose.

Time is the primary challenge in sepsis care. Every hour that passes before a patient with sepsis receives treatment makes it eight percent more likely they’ll die. The life expectancy of people with untreated sepsis is three days or less.

 

8%

Increase in the chance a patient with sepsis will die with every hour that passes without treatment

10

Time in minutes for new sepsis test to return results indicating a high, intermediate, or low probability of sepsis.

 

In under 10 minutes, the new sepsis diagnosis test provides results that can empower emergency department teams to make time-sensitive decisions and create life-saving outcomes for patients.

 

 

Dr. Hollis ‘Bud’ O’Neal of LSU Health New Orleans was the national principal investigator for the work that led to the creation of the sepsis test. 

Much of the research and clinical studies for this new technology took place in Baton Rouge, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and its Emergency Department. Since 2015, Our Lady of the Lake has partnered with Cytovale on more than half a dozen studies that led to this groundbreaking tool, its IntelliSep® test

“IntelliSep is truly a game changer,” said Dr. O’Neal, who started work on a rapid test for sepsis in 2014. “The test provides hospital staff with information needed to identify and treat septic patients efficiently and reduce the financial and health burdens of overtreatment for hospitals and patients.”

Dr. O’Neal, who completed his medical studies and is a faculty member at LSU Health New Orleans, serves as a critical care physician and medical director of research at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.

 

 

Data has shown that up to 80 percent of sepsis deaths could be prevented with rapid sepsis diagnosis and treatment.

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– Elsa Hahne/LSU

The sepsis test was created by Cytovale, a medical diagnostics company that worked  in concert with the team at LSU and LSU’s Championship Health Partner Our Lady of the Lake Health during the clinical development of the test. Our Lady of the Lake Health, which now has two Cytovale machines, has been using the test on patients since it was implemented in August 2023. 

Developing a test that receives FDA approval is one thing, while using that test in a hospital setting is entirely another, said Dr. Christopher Thomas, vice president and chief quality officer for Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System.

“To deliver sepsis care at a world-class level, we need consistency and repeatability—we need process and continuous learning,” he said. “Essentially, we’re saying to our teams that sepsis is just as critical as trauma, stroke and heart attacks. We need everyone to start a standard process as early as possible using the test.” 

The groundbreaking sepsis test, and the partnership that made it happen, is one of many examples of LSU teams winning for Louisiana's health. 

 

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