Sepsis tied to nearly 20% of pediatric hospital deaths in U.S.

A retrospective cohort study found nearly one in five pediatric deaths occurring in a U.S. hospital involve sepsis. Published in JAMA Health Network, the authors analyzed almost four million U.S. pediatric hospitalizations from 2016-2023. Sepsis was a factor in 17.8% of hospitalizations resulting in death, and in-hospital mortality for pediatric sepsis cases reached 10.1%, the authors found. An accompanying editorial said the findings are the first national estimates for pediatric sepsis. The authors say the pediatric sepsis event criteria “provide a standardized, scalable framework for pediatric sepsis surveillance and underscore its substantial burden among hospitalized U.S. children.” (MedPage Today article, 3/23/26)