About SIGMARIS

About SIGMARIS

We are a non-profit sepsis special interest group, which was funded by Malaysia Sepsis Alliance (MySepsis), aim to share about sepsis & infection  info with the motivation of pay it forward for the benefit for the healthcare community. This is a virtual group which create a border-less platform for these special interest personals to share their expertise. Our group were formed by varies expertise from varies background which consist of clinicians (Emergency Physicians, Anaesthetists, Infectious Disease Physicians, Infection controls, Peadiatricians) , pathologist, microbiologist, immunology, pharmacologist, pharmacy, nurses, paramedics which are from different institutes, general governments and private hospitals, and universities.

SIGMARIS is part of biggest sepsis global networks, The Global Sepsis Alliance, Jena, Gemany and The Asia Pacific Alliance working in alignment with the WHO objective focus on sepsis. More info can be reach at following links 

Improving the prevention, diagnosis and clinical management of sepsis

Sepsis is the 10^th leading cause of death in most industrialized countries; its incidence increasing yearly at a rate of approximately 5-10%. It still remains as a leading cause of death in critical care practices to this day, despite advances in resuscitation therapy and also use of modern antibiotics. In 2012, it was recorded as the third highest principle cause of death in Malaysia with 16.37% as compared to 13% in 2008. Prevalence of sepsis is estimated to be around 38% based on daily census in Malaysia from year 2006 till 2014.  

Diagnosis of sepsis in a patient who has been suspected of having infections remains difficult to this day, especially in patients where clinical signs and symptoms are vague or are difficult to interpret. Culture and sensitivity (microbiological cultures) lack in sensitivity as it frequently yields negative results due to previous or concomitant antibiotic therapy, or there was error in collecting its sample. Liberal usage of broad-spectrum antibiotics due to uncertainty of diagnosis leads to increasing events of antibiotic resistance. Sepsis is the only treatable disease that recovers fully if appropriate interventions are started early in the course of the disease. 

As sepsis is treatable if identified early, our team, SIGMARIS was formed in 2013 as an initiative to provide continuous education and updates on the management of sepsis to Malaysian healthcare professionals. The SIGMARIS are multidisciplinary consists of clinicians, scientists and researchers from the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Engineering and School of Chemistry of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). We are also actively involved in fundamental research of sepsis pathology, with the aim to translate laboratory findings to better bedside diagnostics. Our team actively involved in research on sepsis biomarkers, antimicrobial resistance and POCT (point of care test) development.

Using a transdisciplinary approach, we are currently developing a rapid, portable sepsis diagnosis kit to be used beyond the emergency department and primary healthcare setting e.g. in natural disasters and war-afflicted regions where sepsis readily occurs but is challenging to diagnose and treat. The idea for this sepsis diagnosis kit has been filed for patent and its prototype is currently being developed. 

SIGMARIS was involved in organizing the first Malaysia “Sepsis Evolution” course in August 2015, which is the first sepsis awareness course for clinicians and healthcare professionals in Malaysia. During this course, we introduce   “Sepsis Algorithm”–a clinical algorithm for sepsis diagnosis for the use in primary health care. SIGMARIS will be holding “Sepsis Evolution” courses periodically to disseminate awareness on sepsis to Malaysian clinicians and scientists working in the field. It supports the World Sepsis Congress and Global Sepsis Alliance.

SIGMARIS is committed to provide the best evidence-based care to sepsis patients. Our group aim to provide insights in identifying sepsis and highlight the burden of this disease. Looking at recent epidemics and pandemics around the world, it is critical that healthcare professionals are familiar in dealing with infectious disease outbreaks. The path of sepsis evolution is built on discussion in dilemmas while treating sepsis and the reintroduction of a systematic approach in managing sepsis.“Sepsis: Recognize. Rectify”.