IMPRESS (International Multicentre PREvalence Study on Sepsis) is an observational study on sepsis and septic shock sponsored by the European Society of Intensive Care (ESICM) and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).
IMPRESS will analyze de-identified patient data from participating facilities (ERs or ICUs) worldwide from patients admitted with severe sepsis or septic shock during a single 24 hour period. Participating facilities will collect data on November 7th, 2013 using either web- or paper-based collection tools. This data will include facility, patient, disease and treatment characteristics, and will take 30 to 45 minutes per patient to complete.
The goals of IMPRESS are as follows:
- Determine the epidemiology of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock throughout the world
- Evaluate the impact of sepsis syndromes on outcome
- Evaluate the implantation of treatment guidelines recommended by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC)
- Estimate sample size requirements to detect meaningful differences in patient-centered outcomes for clinical trials performed in a large international and collaborative research network
IMPRESS is a prospective observational quality improvement project that may not necessarily be subject to the same regulations as a traditional research study. However, ethics and IRB approval requirements vary by country or institution, and IRB approval must be obtained for each center if required by local regulations.
To find out more information about IMPRESS and to register your institution, visit the IMPRESS website. On the website, you will also be able to download the study protocol and obtain the contact information of national study coordinators in over 40 countries.
So, remember the date November 7th, 2013 and register in IMPRESS today to do your part to help better understand and fight sepsis!
The ESCAVO team