The Genomic and Microbiology Revolution: In Technology We Trust?

‘In technology we trust?’ is the subtitle of our conference and the justification for this slightly sceptical tone is nowhere clearer than in the field of sepsis diagnosis, the topic covered by our first speaker Professor Paul Dark from Manchester, where he is Professor of Intensive Care Medicine and also Deputy Medical Director of the National Institute of Health Research Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN). Professor Dark spoke several years ago at our conference in 2017 and we are very pleased to be able to welcome him back to review progress made since then.

                It is sobering to reflect that despite advances in health technology the mortality rate associated with sepsis is still around a third. Early recognition of sepsis is still a formidable challenge as the clinical signs and symptoms seen in a variety of acute conditions are not necessarily anything to do with infection. There is no agreement even over the value of tests such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), which have been around for a very long time and the subject of numerous trials.

                Indeed, in a previous talk to the BSMT, another intensivist suggested that the only thing missing from the CRP test was the letter A! In contrast, other centres value this test highly and consider monitoring CRP levels in combination with the results of other tests and their own clinical judgement to be really important in monitoring patient progress.