Conexiant
Login
  • The Analytical Scientist
  • The Cannabis Scientist
  • The Medicine Maker
  • The Ophthalmologist
  • The Pathologist
  • The Traditional Scientist
The Pathologist
  • Explore Pathology

    Explore

    • Latest
    • Insights
    • Case Studies
    • Opinion & Personal Narratives
    • Research & Innovations
    • Product Profiles

    Featured Topics

    • Molecular Pathology
    • Infectious Disease
    • Digital Pathology

    Issues

    • Latest Issue
    • Archive
  • Subspecialties
    • Oncology
    • Histology
    • Cytology
    • Hematology
    • Endocrinology
    • Neurology
    • Microbiology & Immunology
    • Forensics
    • Pathologists' Assistants
  • Training & Education

    Career Development

    • Professional Development
    • Career Pathways
    • Workforce Trends

    Educational Resources

    • Guidelines & Recommendations
    • App Notes

    Events

    • Webinars
    • Live Events
  • Events
    • Live Events
    • Webinars
  • Profiles & Community

    People & Profiles

    • Power List
    • Voices in the Community
    • Authors & Contributors
  • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
Subscribe
Subscribe

False

The Pathologist / Issues / 2023 / Feb / Sepsis Patient Risk Scores
Microbiology & Immunology Microbiology and Immunology Bioinformatics Infectious Disease

A Calculated Risk

How a personalized sepsis score aims to better stratify patients with acute infection

By George Francis Lee 02/15/2023 News 2 min read

Share

Dysregulated host responses to infection can often result in sepsis – presenting a challenge for practitioners and causing many thousands of deaths and across the globe. Now, researchers at the University of Oxford, UK, have developed a new method to identify immune dysfunction and predict clinical outcomes in patients with acute infection – generating a personalized risk score for each patient in the process (1).

The authors’ previous work used patient subphenotypes to determine risk, which led to the development of two sepsis response signature (SRS) groups: SRS1 and SRS2. The first group consisted of an immunocompromised profile with increased risk of mortality. The second group had a immunocompetent profile with reduced mortality; however, compared with those who received a placebo, individuals in this latter group showed poorer survival when treated with corticosteroids (2).

Having completed this initial work, the authors recognized that there was no risk assessment tool for patients who do not qualify for a sepsis diagnosis. Using whole blood transcriptomics and a machine learning framework – called SepstratifieR, the team developed a new system to fill the gap. 

SepstratifieR was trained on data from sepsis patients and healthy individuals and was constructed from three gene expression assay platforms. Rather than use strict SRS categorization, the machine learning model scored patients on a continuum, taking into account a new category – SRS3 – for participants who fall into a low severity cohort and are transcriptionally closer to good health. In short, the lower the resulting quantitative SRS (SRSq) score a patient received, the lower the risk of sepsis.

Notably, the SRS groups identified in the earlier research were already known to be dynamic – exhibiting change even during a single hospital stay; the newer findings demonstrate that SRSq also decreases over time along recovery, with larger decreases associated with better outcomes. The authors conclude that their method offers a new angle on immune dysfunction, “bringing us closer to precision medicine in infection.”

Credit: Images sourced from Unsplash.com

Newsletters

Receive the latest pathology news, personalities, education, and career development – weekly to your inbox.

Newsletter Signup Image

References

  1. E Cano-Game et al., Sci Transl Med, 14 (2022). PMID: 36322631.
  2. D Antcliffe et al., Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 119, 990 (2019). PMID: 30365341.

About the Author(s)

George Francis Lee

Interested in how disease interacts with our world. Writing stories covering subjects like politics, society, and climate change.

More Articles by George Francis Lee

Explore More in Pathology

Dive deeper into the world of pathology. Explore the latest articles, case studies, expert insights, and groundbreaking research.

False

Advertisement

Recommended

False

Related Content

Context Matters in Cancer Biology
Microbiology and Immunology
Context Matters in Cancer Biology

December 27, 2021

1 min read

Akoya is leading the way with spatial phenotypic signatures – a novel class of biomarkers for predicting response to immunotherapy

What’s New in Infectious Disease? (December 2021)
Microbiology and Immunology
What’s New in Infectious Disease?

December 23, 2021

1 min read

The latest research and news on COVID-19 and the infectious disease landscape

Immunology Insights
Microbiology and Immunology
Immunology Insights

January 13, 2022

1 min read

The latest research in pathology and laboratory medicine

2021: A Laboratory Medicine Roundup
Microbiology and Immunology
2021: A Laboratory Medicine Roundup

January 18, 2022

3 min read

From transgender health care to the power of pathology podcasts, we take a look at our most popular articles of the last year

False

The Pathologist
Subscribe

About

  • About Us
  • Work at Conexiant Europe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 Texere Publishing Limited (trading as Conexiant), with registered number 08113419 whose registered office is at Booths No. 1, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford, England, WA16 8GS.