Unnoticed infection turns unstoppable @ The Irish Times (CTSO)

Rory Staunton was a happy, friendly 12-year old boy who wanted to be a pilot when he grew up. He lived with his parents and younger sister in New York. He was quite healthy until he dove for a basketball in his school gym one day and cut his arm. The next day, he was feverish and vomitting. Two days later, he was dead.

Rory died from Strep A Toxic Shock Syndrome, a commonly misdiagnosed condition. In The Irish Times, journalist Jim Dwyer chronicles the dismaying story of how the severity of Rory's condition could escape the notice of his pediatrician as well as the emergency room at NYU Langone Medical Center. 

He writes,

On the first day of his illness, "partially camouflaged by ordinary childhood woes, Rory’s condition was, in fact, already dire. Bacteria had gotten into his blood, probably through the cut on his arm. He was sliding into a septic crisis, an avalanche of immune responses to infection from which he would not escape."

The rest of the story includes doctor miscommunications, inaccurate diagnoses, and even a 12-minute gap between symptom observation and doctor recommendation that could have caught the sepsis early:

"A screening tool in the Stop Sepsis program, used when a patient first arrives in the emergency room, calls special attention to a person with three symptoms of a possible eight. At the hospital, Rory showed two: he was breathing 20 times per minute and his pulse was 143. 

Two hours later, though, he had three: his temperature had risen to 102, his pulse was 131 and his respiration rate was 22. But by the time those vital signs were recorded, at 9.26pm, they had no bearing on his treatment. In fact, the doctor had already decided that Rory was going home. Rory’s 'ExitCare' instructions, signed by his father, were printed 12 minutes before those readings." Read more at The Irish Times. 

Rory's story serves as yet more evidence that sepsis is a looming health problem for the country, and also that it remains underdiagnosed. In addition to correctly diagnosing the illness, it is also crucial to ensure that solid treatment options are available once sepsis is diagnosed. CytoSorbents Corporation (OTCBB: CTSO) is one company making gains in this space. CytoSorbents Corporation is a critical-care focused therapeutic device company using blood purification to modulate the immune system and fight organ failure in life-threatening illnesses, including sepsis. CytoSorbents is developing novel and advanced blood purification therapies designed to actively prevent, mitigate, or reverse the development of organ failure and infection, thereby potentially reducing illness severity and helping patients to heal and recover faster. Ultimately the goal is to improve patient outcome and save healthcare costs. 

CytoSorbents’ purification technology is covered by 29 issued patents and is based on biocompatible, highly porous polymer beads that can actively remove toxic substances from blood and other bodily fluids by pore capture and adsorption. The technology has been selected for funding by both the U.S. Army and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in a Phase I SBIR grant for trauma, and DARPA’s “Dialysis-like Therapeutics” program for the treatment of sepsis, respectively. The technology is also the basis of the Company’s two lead programs, CytoSorb™ and HemoDefend. Read more at cytosorbents.com.