Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital is trialing a test that could reduce burden on the NHS by predicting sepsis in patients
Clinicians at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital are leading medical trials of a blood test that could help to save thousands of UK lives a year by predicting sepsis days before patients show any symptoms.
The test, originally researched over 10 years at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), is now being developed by government spin-out company Presymptom Health which believes it could save billions of pounds globally and improve clinical outcomes for sepsis patients.
Sepsis is the immune system’s overreaction to an infection or injury and is associated with life-threatening organ dysfunction. Worldwide, an estimated 49 million people a year contract sepsis, while in the UK almost 2 million patients admitted to hospital each year are thought to be at risk of developing the condition.
Presymptom Health believes the technology can predict whether a patient will develop sepsis around 3 days before symptoms appear, enabling clinicians to treat them much sooner and manage them more effectively.
Professor Dame Angela McLean, Chief Scientific Adviser for MOD, said:
The trials are being led by Dr Paul Schmidt and his team at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, with 2 other sites anticipated to go live during the summer. Up to 600 patients admitted to hospital with respiratory tract infections will be given the option to participate in the trial.
The promising technology has received £200,000 in funding from Ploughshare Innovations, which takes research created by world-leading government laboratories, such as Dstl, and commercialises it to deliver societal impact.
Iain Miller, CEO at Presymptom Health, said:
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, CEO at Ploughshare Innovations, said:
Dr Roman Lukaszewski, the lead Dstl scientist behind the innovation, said:
Anoop Chauhan, executive director of research at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said:
The initial trials will last approximately 12 months and will include samples taken from patients alongside samples collected in a Dstl biobank. The data collected will be independently assessed and used to refine and validate the test, which may be available for broader NHS use within 2 years. If successful, this test could also identify sepsis arising from other infections before symptoms appear, which could potentially include future waves of COVID-19 and other pandemics.