Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening condition and is sometimes referred to as a "hidden killer," The risk of death for a patient admitted with severe sepsis is higher than that of a patient admitted with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or stroke. The present study was aimed at assessing the awareness and perception of sepsis compared to myocardial infarction and stroke among the general population of the western region in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study performed in September to November 2020, with 2,710 participants from a western region in Saudi Arabia who were aged >18years. Data entry was performed using Microsoft Excel and statistical analysis, including chi-square tests, was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software.
Results: A total of 2,710 participants gave a completed response to all items in the questionnaire. The percent awareness of sepsis, stroke and AMI in our study population were found to be 62.4% (n = 1,691), 93.3% (n =2,528), and 93.3% (n = 2,529), respectively. Additionally, participants with education at the graduate level or more had better awareness of sepsis, stroke, and AMI. The score for evaluating knowledge related to the three diseases showed that there is poor knowledge of sepsis (75.4%). Approximately 38.5%, 75.6%, and 72.7% of the participants gave the correct sepsis, stroke, and AMI definitions, respectively. The most mentioned symptoms of sepsis by the participants were fever (62.5%).
Conclusion: There is poor public awareness regarding sepsis, especially for those with chronic diseases. Therefore, continued efforts are needed to raise awareness of sepsis to promote early identification and improves the outcome.
Key words: Sepsis ,septic shock ,public health ,awareness and perception, knowledge, public survey ,organ failure, mortality.
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