**1.2 Financial burden of sepsis**

"Septicemia" is the most common diagnosis treated in US hospitals, having surpassed osteoarthritis in 2011. The number of aggregate sepsis-related hospitalizations has grown exponentially, with the numbers of additional hospitalizations having tripled when comparing 1997–2011 averaging 48,650 hospitalizations/ year to 2011–2018 averaging 160,700 hospitalizations/year [2]. In 2018, the US spent more than \$41.5 billion on hospital care for patients with sepsis, accounting for a disproportionate amount of total hospital costs (10.3%). Of the top 10 most common diagnoses, it ranks as the second most costly, averaging \$18,700/stay, after acute myocardial infarction [2]. Hospitalizations with sepsis as the principal diagnosis also claim the highest 30-day re-admission rate with 8.3% patients getting re-admitted, and the highest average readmission costs at \$19,800 per re-admission [2].
