Figures & data
Figure 1 According to the Iceberg model of health and disease, what we see of illness and health, and what we know as events and deaths due to sepsis is only the tip of an iceberg. Looking below the surface, much alike icebergs that reveal only about one-tenth of their mass above the water and the other nine-tenths remains submerged, we can see that most diagnosis of sepsis are hidden in the official statistics. This is due to several causes, including inadequate public literacy without awareness of the sepsis concept. Therefore, official reports of the cause of illness or death refer only to the most likely definition of its causative infection or factor and not as “sepsis” itself.
Figure 2 This “fishbone” diagram may help to identify some possible causes of quality defects in the detection, prevention and management of sepsis as a medical problem. The root causes analysis (RCA) of faults & problems is used also in medicine, i.e. in the domains of health and safety. The RCA in diagnosis, epidemiology (e.g. to identify the source of an infectious disease), environmental science, accident analysis and occupational safety may help in sorting ideas into useful categories by a visual representation. Looking at causes and effect by a visual concept representation may help addressing to a suitable solution. The outcome or the proposed solution are displayed at the mouth of the fish. Accordingly, inadequate knowledge, skills and facility may lead to delayed detection and management of sepsis (above in the figure). Conversely, (below in the figure), increased resources dedicated to focused information and dissemination, to big-data management with sustainable technology solutions, and to an appropriate enhancement of educational and work-force profiles, are the opposite factors, leading to favorable solutions of the problem that we wish to analyze and manage by the proposed intervention.
