International Critical Care Expert Selected for Prestigious Campaign to Lessen Impact of Sepsis Worldwide

UH Research & Education Update | August 2023

Kenneth E. Remy, MD, MHSc, MSCI, FCCM, The Ellery Sedgwick, Jr. Chair and Distinguished Scientist in Cardiovascular Research, Inaugural Director of the Blood, Heart, Lung, and Immunology Research Center at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, and faculty in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics was selected to serve as an international expert for the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC). Sepsis and septic shock are leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for over 11 million lives lost.

Kenneth E. Remy, MD, MHSc, MSCI, FCCM

The International Surviving Sepsis Campaign is a joint initiative of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM). These societies are committed to reducing mortality and morbidity from sepsis and septic shock worldwide. The multidisciplinary, international experts who lead the SCC are committed to improving the time to recognize and treat sepsis and septic shock. The campaign selects less than 60 world experts in sepsis, and thus the selection of Dr. Remy for this campaign is an institution’s first. 

Collaborating with other experts, Dr. Remy will develop the 2024 pediatric sepsis guidelines and then, sequentially, the adult guidelines. The guidelines process will closely follow the first edition of the “Surviving Sepsis Campaign International Guidelines for the Management of Septic Shock and Sepsis-Associated Organ Dysfunction in Children,” which provides guidance for the clinician caring for children with a sepsis or septic shock diagnosis in the PICU.

Dr. Remy’s expertise in immunology and research were guiding factors in his selection to lead a special panel for the SSC initiative. The approach of the SSC campaign includes building awareness of sepsis, improving diagnosis, increasing the use of appropriate treatment, educating healthcare professionals, improving post-intensive care unit care, developing guidelines for care, and facilitating data collection for audit and feedback in a reduction in sepsis mortality. The SCC campaign and guidelines are the background for all sepsis management in resource-rich and resource-limited countries.

Dr. Remy is a clinical provider in both the adult and pediatric critical care units at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital located in Cleveland’s University Circle.  In addition to his interest in sepsis, Dr. Remy’s expertise and experience extends to COVID, global health, bioethics, humor therapy and palliative care.