Tech for realtime sepsis test likely to help limit casualties, say experts

The paid test could help prevent the infection that is one of the factors behind millions of deaths in India every year

New Delhi:

The Institute of Nano Science and Technology in Mohali, an autonomous research institute under the department of science and technology, has developed a technology to test for sepsis in realtime (Shutterstock)

The Institute of Nano Science and Technology in Mohali, an autonomous research institute under the department of science and technology, has developed a technology to test for sepsis in realtime, where the results will be available within a minute as compared to the minimum of 24 hours it currently takes -- a move that could help prevent the infection that is one of the factors behind millions of deaths in India every year.

“Rapid and early detection of sepsis biomarkers is essential and an immediate need to prevent significant casualties of ICU (intensive care unit) patients caused by an uncontrolled infection in the patient’s body. A highly sensitive and selective surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) based detection protocol has been established to detect sepsis biomarkers,” said Rehan Khan from INST, one of the scientists behind the technology.

Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection and happens when an existing infection triggers a chain reaction in the body, which if not recognised early and managed promptly can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death.

A range of biomarkers are associated with sepsis, including fluid phase pattern recognition molecules (PRMs), cytokines, chemokines, damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), non-coding RNAs, miRNAs, cell membrane receptors, cell proteins, metabolites, and soluble receptors.

A 2022 study conducted by a team of scientists from India and Australia showed that more than half of the patients in intensive care units in India suffer from sepsis, stating that there was a sharp rise in such cases over the past decade. According to the study, researchers found sepsis in over 56% cases among 677 patients sampled from 35 ICUs all over the country. In about 45% of cases, the infection was caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria.