New MedStar Health Poll - Just 13 Percent of Adults Can Identify Key Risk Factors for Sepsis, the Disease that Kills Someone in the U.S. Every Two Minutes

During Sepsis Awareness Month, Maryland man says his near-death experience should serve as cautionary tale for others.

COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Drew Bossi, 26 of Maryland, wants people to know sepsis is not to be taken lightly. He speaks from his own scary and almost fatal experience.

As a teenager playing baseball one summer, he was also suffering through the worst case of poison ivy he's ever had.

"I had poison ivy from the neck down and I was scratching everywhere," Bossi said. "I had lots of open wounds on my body from the rash. I did my best to stay covered and not to scratch, but I was a teenager, it was summer, and I spent lots of time on baseball fields full of dirt."

Then one day while hanging out with a friend Bossi was hit with sudden and severe exhaustion.

"It happened like the flick of a switch. I woke up feeling totally normal that day. But in the afternoon, it hit me like a wall of bricks. Within 30 minutes I became extremely exhausted and out of it. I felt cold, was sweating profusely and had chills. It was July and 95 degrees outside, but I turned on a heater in my room and got under the covers like it was winter. I thought I just needed to sleep it off, but it could have been fatal if I had."

When Bossi's mother got home from work and saw him looking "white as a ghost," she took him to the closest emergency department where he recovered after receiving IV antibiotics for what he remembers as taking 5-6 hours.

"I'm on the lookout for it now, but I had never heard of sepsis before."

Bossi is not alone. A recent national survey conducted by MedStar Health shows about half of people polled don't know what sepsis is or have never heard of it. Only 36% can identify all the symptoms of the condition that kills someone in the US every two minutes. Most people surveyed knew the top four risk factors for sepsis but only 13% could identify them all.

"These survey results demonstrate the need for the public to learn more about the risk factors and symptoms of sepsis, which can rapidly turn into a deadly condition," said Miriam Fischer, MD, emergency medicine and quality and safety physician lead for the sepsis program at MedStar Health. "It's concerning that almost half of adults don't know what sepsis is or have never heard of it. I am also surprised that a third of people surveyed aren't concerned about this this significant and often preventable cause of death."

Sepsis happens when the body's immune system has an overwhelming response to an infection. It can lead to organ failure, tissue damage and death. Sepsis can happen with any kind of infection including illnesses like the flu, urinary tract infections, or wounds, and can affect any part of the body.

"The doctors told me the infection entered my bloodstream through my poison ivy rash," said Bossi. "They mentioned my body fighting the poison ivy essentially distracted my immune system from fighting the blood infection."

Since eight in 10 sepsis cases start outside of a hospital, healthcare providers agree that symptom unawareness can put lives in danger. Sepsis is considered a medical emergency, and the risk of death jumps by nearly 10% every hour without treatment. MedStar Health is sharing the acronym S.E.P.S.I.S. to help the public quickly recognize sepsis symptoms and seek treatment immediately.

S.E.P.S.I.S. stands for the following sepsis signs and symptoms:

• S — Shivering, fever, or very cold
• E — Extreme pain or discomfort
• P — Pale, discolored, clammy, or sweaty skin
• S — Sleepy, confusion, or disorientation
• I — "I feel like I might die."
• S — Shortness of breath

"Sepsis is a sneaky disease. Almost any infection can lead to sepsis," said Rollin J. (Terry) Fairbanks, MD, MS, senior vice president and chief Quality & Safety officer at MedStar Health and executive director of the MedStar Institute for Quality & Safety. "Early recognition of symptoms that may be caused by sepsis can literally make the difference between life and death."

Alarming facts about sepsis include:

• Sepsis is the #1 cause of hospitalization in the U.S.
• In the U.S., sepsis takes a life every two minutes. 
• 80% of sepsis occurs outside the hospital (CDC).
• More than 1.7 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with sepsis each year.
• More than 75,000 children develop severe sepsis each year; 6,800 die, more than from pediatric cancers. 

The survey also shows people confuse symptoms of sepsis with the flu. Forty percent of respondents don't realize sepsis symptoms are more severe than flu symptoms. 

"It is understandable people are confused about the differences between flu and sepsis," said Dr. Fischer. "Sepsis and the flu can look and feel very similar. The differentiating factor is if the patient feels like they're going to die, or they become disoriented or confused. That's a more serious condition that triggers suspicion of sepsis. And sometimes flu can lead to sepsis. If this occurs the patient or their caregiver should seek medical attention right away by calling 911 or by getting to the closest emergency department."

"It's something I think about frequently now," said Bossi. "Especially because of how crazy and surprising it was. Something as small as poison ivy and all of the sudden I'm looking at a severe blood infection and potential septic shock. I think people need to understand how quickly sepsis can go from bad to really really bad. Learn the warning signs and act quickly if you need to."

To learn more about sepsis visit MedStarHealth.org/Sepsis.

SOURCE MedStar Health