# Prehospital Activation of ED Teams to Improve Sepsis Care

> **NIH NIH K23** · IHC HEALTH SERVICES, INC. · 2022 · $192,403

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Support from this Mentored Career Development Award will provide Ithan Peltan, MD, MSc the additional skills
and training he needs to succeed in his goal of becoming an independent physician-scientist focused on
improving early sepsis care. Dr. Peltan is a board-certified pulmonary and critical care physician at
Intermountain Healthcare with a track record of research success, proven dedication to clinical investigation,
and an excellent foundation in methods for high-quality clinical research. This proposal will complete Dr.
Peltan’s transition to research independence via a structured career development plan that builds on his prior
training and experience and leverages an environment with rich research and career development resources
as well as access to granular multicenter clinical data. Specific learning objectives include (1) advanced
epidemiologic and biostatistical methods; (2) implementation science and associated methodologies; and (3)
the design and conduct of clinical trials. Dr. Peltan will acquire these new skills and knowledge by means of
formal coursework, professional development training, and an innovative program of mentored research that
will advance medical knowledge about sepsis and identify strategies to facilitate delivery of high-quality sepsis
care in the emergency department. Dr. Peltan’s career development will be guided by an experienced and
cohesive multidisciplinary mentorship team with expertise in critical care, emergency and prehospital research,
sepsis, implementation science, clinical trials, and advanced analytic methods.
Sepsis causes or complicates hospital stays for over 1 million U.S. patients every year, with mortality of 15-
20%. Early, appropriate antibiotics are critical to optimal sepsis outcomes. Many patients who present to the
emergency department (ED) with sepsis, however, do not receive antibiotics within the intervals recommended
by international guidelines and required under government standards. Given the barriers to accomplishing
timely antibiotics using current care models, new approaches to ED sepsis care are urgently needed. The
research planned for this K23 award aims to (1) validate methods to identify patients likely to have sepsis at or
before ED arrival and (2) understand the unintended consequences of care systems that prioritize rapid
antibiotic imitation for sepsis in order to (3) test whether redesigning ED sepsis care around multidisciplinary
“Code Sepsis” teams activated on or before patient’s ED arrival could improve delivery of high-quality sepsis
care. Importantly, this proposal addresses questions and develops methods applicable to care delivery for
other high-risk critical illnesses. Findings from this research will provide the preliminary data for R01 or
equivalent funding to support a multicenter cluster-randomized trial of the Code Sepsis protocol.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10455112
- **Project number:** 5K23GM129661-04
- **Recipient organization:** IHC HEALTH SERVICES, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Ithan Daniel Peltan
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $192,403
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10455112

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10455112, Prehospital Activation of ED Teams to Improve Sepsis Care (5K23GM129661-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10455112. Licensed CC0.

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