System and method for diagnosis and management of sepsis

Abstract

Embodiments of systems and methods for providing protocols for administering an aspect of care are presented. Specifically, certain embodiments relate to a sepsis diagnosis and management protocol which may have been segmented according to the severity of the sepsis, where the care directives provided by the differing segments of the protocol will be of differing intensity or invasiveness based upon the severity of the patient's disease. Embodiments of such protocols may be implemented in conjunction with computer systems to aid in providing that aspect of care in conjunction with a particular patient.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for determining a protocol for an aspect of care, comprising:
 identifying an aspect of care,   ascertaining a current state of the aspect of care;   assessing the current state of the aspect of care;   identifying the set of therapeutic interventions associated with the current state of the aspect of care;   identifying variables associated with each of the therapeutic interventions;   characterizing the set of therapeutic interventions;   sequencing the therapeutic interventions based upon the characterization of the set of therapeutic interventions; and   devising a master routine of the set of therapeutic interventions; and   devising iterative logic for each of the therapeutic interventions.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the protocol is a protocol for the diagnosis and management of sepsis. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the protocol for the diagnosis and management of sepsis comprises:
 a first segment comprising a first set of rules corresponding to sepsis; and   a second segment comprising a second set of rules corresponding to severe sepsis.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first set of rules comprising the first segment comprises one or more rules for detecting sepsis. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the one or more rules are configured to generate a score based on a heart rate, temperature, respiration rate and white blood cell count. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the second set of rules of the second segment are further segmented according to clinical independency. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the second set of rules is further segmented into a fluid/blood therapy segment, a vasopressor/inotrope therapy segment, an adrenal insufficiency/steroid therapy segment and a pulmonary arterial catheter directed therapy segment. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising implementing the protocol on a protocol system coupled to one or more presentation devices. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein implementing the protocol on the protocol system comprises:
 executing an instance of the protocol by a protocol execution module,
 determining a first rule of the protocol by the protocol execution module, 
 presenting one or more interfaces corresponding to the first rule through a first presentation device, wherein the one or more interfaces comprises at least one request to obtain data corresponding to a patient, 
 receiving the data corresponding to the patient at the protocol execution module from the first presentation device using the one or more interfaces, 
 storing the data corresponding to the patient and associating the stored data with the instance of the protocol, and 
 determining a second rule of the protocol based on the stored data corresponding to the patient and the instance of the protocol, wherein the second rule is determined by the protocol execution module. 
   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the data corresponding to the patient is received from a medical device coupled to the patient and the protocol system. 
     
     
         11 . A system for computerized implementation of a protocol, comprising:
 one or more presentation devices configured to present interfaces; and   a protocol system coupled to the one or more presentation devices, the protocol system comprising:   a processor,   a data store, and   a computer readable medium comprising instructions executable by the processor for implementing a protocol for an aspect of care, where the protocol was devised by:
 identifying an aspect of care, 
 ascertaining a current state of the aspect of care; 
 assessing the current state of the aspect of care; 
 identifying the set of therapeutic interventions associated with the current state of the aspect of care; 
 identifying variables associated with each of the therapeutic interventions; 
 characterizing the set of therapeutic interventions; 
 sequencing the therapeutic interventions based upon the characterization of the set of therapeutic interventions; and 
 devising a master routine of the set of therapeutic interventions; and 
 devising iterative logic for each of the therapeutic interventions. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein implementing the protocol comprises:
 executing an instance of the protocol by a protocol execution module,
 determining a first rule of the protocol by the protocol execution module, 
 presenting one or more interfaces corresponding to the first rule through a first presentation device, wherein the one or more interfaces comprises at least one request to obtain data corresponding to a patient, 
 receiving the data corresponding to the patient at the protocol execution module from the first presentation device using the one or more interfaces, 
 storing the data corresponding to the patient and associating the stored data with the instance of the protocol, and 
 determining a second rule of the protocol based on the stored data corresponding to the patient and the instance of the protocol, wherein the second rule is determined by the protocol execution module. 
   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the protocol is a protocol for the diagnosis and management of sepsis. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the protocol for the diagnosis and management of sepsis comprises:
 a first segment comprising a first set of rules corresponding to sepsis; and   a second segment comprising a second set of rules corresponding to severe sepsis.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the first set of rules comprising the first segment comprises one or more rules for detecting sepsis. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more rules are configured to generate a score based on a heart rate, temperature, respiration rate and white blood cell count. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the second set of rules of the second segment are further segmented according to clinical independency. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the second set of rules is further segmented into a fluid/blood therapy segment, a vasopressor/inotrope therapy segment, an adrenal insufficiency/steroid therapy segment and a pulmonary arterial catheter directed therapy segment. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the patient specific data is received from a medical device coupled to the patient and the protocol system.