Smart Discharges to improve outcomes in pediatric sepsis

Children hospitalized for serious infections in Africa have a very high post-discharge mortality rate. This means that many children who seem healthy after an infection return to their homes and then get sick again and die. In places like Uganda, as many children die during the weeks after they are discharged from a hospital as die during hospitalization. The data shows this is about 5% in each case. Most of these deaths occur at home. This has been shown in several studies throughout Africa.

Serious infections can include pneumonia, diarrhea or malaria. The danger is when infections lead to sepsis. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition where the body’s response to an infection damages its own tissues and organs. Instead of local inflammation resulting from a local infection, which would be the appropriate response, the body’s entire system goes into inflammation. Sepsis is the leading cause of death from infection around the world, despite advances in modern medicine like vaccines, antibiotics and acute care. Newborn babies, small children and the elderly are especially vulnerable.

We use a simple mobile app powered by scientifically rigorous, data-driven prediction models to identify vulnerable children at admission. We then give those children and their families more support when they are leaving the hospital at discharge. The discharge kit includes extra education, basic hygiene and health materials and referrals to their local health clinics so they can be checked up by local health care workers closer to home. It is an effective way to save lives.