Using a blood test and a decision algorithm, rather than standard hospital protocols, to determine the appropriate length of antibiotic therapy in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock can reduce duration of treatments, shorten ICU stays, and lower hospital costs— all without adverse effects on patients, according to new research.

More than 215,000 people will die of sepsis in the United States each year, more than 750,000 will require hospital treatment, and the costs will be nearly $17 billion. Severe sepsis is one of the top 10 leading causes of death in adults, yet there has been little progress in recent decades in treating sepsis and septic shock, and the mortality rate remains disturbingly high.