rca Revista Colombiana de Anestesiología Rev. colomb. anestesiol. 0120-3347 SCARE-Sociedad Colombiana de Anestesiología y Reanimación 10.1097/CJ9.0000000000000090 00011 Letter to the Editor The declaration of São Paulo: sepsis as the main cause of preventable death and disability in Latin America. A call to action in order to reduce the burden of sepsis Declaración de São Paulo: Sepsis como la principal causa de muerte y discapacidad prevenibles en América Latina. Un llamado a la acción para reducir el impacto de la sepsis Jaimes Fabian a * Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia. Universidad de Antioquia Universidad de Antioquia Medellin Colombia fabian.jaimes@udea.edu.co Correspondence: Fabian Jaimes, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia. E-mail: fabian.jaimes@udea.edu.co Jan-Mar 2019 47 1 76 77 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License

Sepsis is a major cause of preventable deaths in Latin American (LATAM) countries, and is the most frequent cause of death from infection.

During the Latin American Sepsis Institute meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, on May 30, 2018, delegates representing 16 LATAM countries called for urgent action by governments, healthcare workers, and the community, to support the national and international commitments to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of sepsis and to dedicate human and financial resources to accomplish these goals. The delegates supported the following declaration1:

Noting that sepsis is recognized as a global health priority by World Health Organization (WHO) Resolution WHA A70/13 and that member nations are urged to adopt national policies to improve the prevention, recognition, and treatment of sepsis;

Recognizing that despite the unacceptable number of deaths and disabilities caused by sepsis, awareness of sepsis among healthcare providers and lay public in LATAM countries is very low;

Stressing that there is wide variation among LATAM settings regarding healthcare services to treat sepsis;

Identifying that hospital-acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance are a major healthcare issue in LATAM countries;

We urge government authorities, policy makers, healthcare managers, professionals, universities, and associated societies to:

Endorse the WHO Resolution on Sepsis and establish national action plans to prevent sepsis, to enhance early recognition and management in a continuous effort to improve access to care and adequate resources and to reduce inequality;

Focus on sepsis prevention by providing adequate sanitation, vaccination to at-risk groups, and adequate nutrition, as well as reducing maternal and pediatric deaths;

Cooperate in partnerships to ensure adequate sepsis treatment in all nations, through undergraduate and postgraduate training of healthcare professionals focused on improving outcomes in both patients and survivors, recognizing that the establishment of adequate national policies to treat sepsis in 1 country will clearly benefit other nations;

Promote sepsis awareness among laypeople and healthcare workers, including recognizing World Sepsis Day (September 13th) as a national date;

Implement measures aimed at minimizing the risk of the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance and hospital-acquired infections;

Promote collaborative research to further understand the burden of sepsis as well as to identify local perspectives and priorities for adequate recognition and treatment of sepsis;

List of participants

Latin America:

Luciano Azevedo: President of ILAS. Universidad de São Paulo, Brazil-São Paulo.

Antonio Bafi: Universidad Federal de São Paulo, Brazil- São Paulo.

Fabián Alberto Jaimes Barragan: Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia-HUSVF-ACMI-AMCI-ACIN.

Fernando Bozza: FIOCRUZ, Brazil-Río de Janeiro.

Gastón Burgui: Assistant professor of Intensive Medicine at the Hospital de Clínicas de Montevideo, Uruguay.

Luis Antonio Gorordo Delsol: Hospital Juárez of México and Hospital Dr Victorio de la Fuente Narváez, México- Fundación Sepsis México.

Elisa Estenssoro: Hospital Interzonal de Agudos San Martin de La Plata, Argentina.

Flavio Freitas: Universidad Federal de São Paulo, Brazil -São Paulo.

Tomás Emilio Regueira Heskia: Head of the Department of Medical Intensive Care-Clínica las Condes, Chile-SOCHIMI.

Andre Japiassu: FIOCRUZ, Brazil-Río de Janeiro.

Jenny Linares: Critical Care Division, Hospital conmemorativo Karl Heusner, Belice-COCECATI.

Thiago Lisboa: Universidad Federal de Río Grande del Sur, Brazil-Río Grande del Sur.

Flavia Machado: Universidad Federal de São Paulo, Brazil-São Paulo.

Graciela Merinos-Sánchez: Hospital Juárez de México and Hospital Dr Victorio de la Fuente Narváez, México- Fundación Sepsis México.

Carmen Sara Terrazas Obregón: Hospital "Alberto Sabogal Sologuren" de ESSALUD, Peru-SOPEMI.

Cláudio Flauzino de Oliveira: Albert Einstein Israeli Hospital, São Paulo.

Eduardo Pacheco: Universidad Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo.

Felipe Dal Pizzol: Universidad do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Santa Catarina.

Reinaldo Salomâo: Universidad Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo.

Daniela Souza: Universidad de São Paulo, São Paulo.

Global Sepsis Alliance:

Simon Finfer: George Institute for Global Health, Australia.

Niranjan Kissoon: University of British Columbia, Canadá.

Pan America Health Organization:

Romina Oliveira: Brasilia.

Pilar Ramon-Pardo: Washington.

Personal LASI:

Joice Andrade: Administrative Secretary.

Aline Bossa: Biomedical Coordinator.

Juliana Lubarino: High Level Nursing Coordinator.

Mariana Monteiro: Nursing Coordinator.

Note: This declaration is published at the request of Dr Fabián Alberto Jaimes Barragán, who participated in the drafting of this declaration.

Reference 1. Instituto Latinoamericano de Sepse [Internet]. Declaración de São Paulo. Sepsis: la principal causa de muerte y discapacidad prevenibles en América Latina. Un llamado a la acción para reducir el impacto de la sepsis São Paulo, May 30, 2018. [Cited 2018 Sep 02]. Available at: Available at: http://www.ilas.org.br/see-declaration-es.php . Instituto Latinoamericano de Sepse Internet Declaración de São Paulo. Sepsis: la principal causa de muerte y discapacidad prevenibles en América Latina. Un llamado a la acción para reducir el impacto de la sepsis São Paulo 30 05 2018 2018 Sep 02 Available at: http://www.ilas.org.br/see-declaration-es.php

Jaimes F. The declaration of São Paulo: sepsis as the main cause of preventable death and disability in Latin America. A call to action in order to reduce the burden of sepsis. Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology. 2019;47:76-77.