World Sepsis Day – UMC Utrecht

Urinary tract infections are common, especially in the elderly. Escherichia coli is the leading cause of urinary tract infections and is responsible for up to one third of all sepsis cases worldwide. Preventing such invasive E. coli infections through vaccination could lead to significant health improvements. However, there is currently no vaccine available to prevent sepsis. That’s why scientists are studying whether a new vaccine can prevent sepsis in a large European study.

For this study, UMC Utrecht is looking for people over the age of 60 who have had a urinary tract infection in the past two years and are therefore at an increased risk of developing sepsis. Sepsis is a life-threatening form of organ failure caused by the body’s dysregulated response to an infection. It is a common cause or complication of hospitalization in an intensive care unit and results in high mortality and a high burden of disease. Additionally, sepsis is often diagnosed late both outside and inside the hospital. The result of this is a strong impact on patients and healthcare.

Urinary tract infection

Of E. coli-bacteria it is an intestinal bacterium that is harmless to most people, but the bacterium can be particularly dangerous for the elderly. Because the immune system works less well with age, older adults have a higher risk of infections and sepsis. Older people are particularly vulnerable urinary tract infections (e.g. cystitis) because the bladder weakens with age. As a result, more and more urine remains in the bladder after urination. The longer and more urine remains in the bladder, the greater the risk of an E. coli urinary tract infection.

Of E. coli-bacteria it is a leading and growing cause of sepsis worldwide and is responsible for 17-37% of all cases of sepsis. The global increase in antibiotic resistance E. coli it is also a major challenge for the proper treatment of E. coli infections. As a result, the effectiveness of treating urinary tract infections with antibiotics is waning. It is therefore important to develop new possibilities for the treatment of severe infections E. coli impede.

There is still no vaccine that can prevent sepsis due to an E-coli urinary tract infection. Researchers have therefore developed a candidate vaccine against sepsis in recent years. Now they want to investigate whether this new vaccine actually protects against sepsis.

18 thousand participants across Europe

Of E. embrace-study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of a candidate vaccine for the prevention of sepsis in 18,000 adults aged 60 and over who have had a urinary tract infection in the past two years. UMC Utrecht is also participating in this European study and is looking for 800 participants in the Utrecht region. The study is placebo-controlled, which means that half of the participants will receive the candidate vaccine and the other half will receive a placebo (dummy vaccine). During the post-vaccine period, the number of sepsis cases continues to increase E. coli with the vaccine candidate versus placebo.

Persons interested in participating in this study must meet the following conditions:

• be at least 60 years of age at the time of participation in the study;
• They have been treated for a urinary tract infection for the past 2 years;
• Be a resident of the province of Utrecht.

Additionally, participants must be prepared to track their health status in a dedicated app via their mobile phone.

More information on this study can be found at www.vaccinatiestudie.nl/onderzoeken/embrace