Many septic patients recover with a good quality of life, and treatment is cost-effective.
A quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) is a measure of the years of life gained through a treatment in a specific population, adjusted for the quality of life that each year provides. In this prospective, observational cohort study, researchers evaluated long-term mortality, quality of life, QALY, and cost per QALY in 470 patients with severe sepsis at 24 intensive care units (ICUs) in Finland. A validated quality of life survey was administered to patients or their representatives 1 week after enrollment in a parallel sepsis study and again after a median of 17 months.
Mortality rates were 15% in the ICU, 28% in the hospital, 41% at 1 year, and 45% at 2 years. Mortality varied significantly with age. Among the 98 patients who completed the sec…