A recent systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated neurocognitive outcomes and the use of neuromonitoring tools for hospitalized sepsis patients with neurologic complications. Database searches yielded 74 relevant studies with a total of 146,855 patients. Thirty-eight studies (n=142,193) featured reports of neurologic complications, including septic encephalopathy (36%), ischemic stroke (5%), intracranial hemorrhage (2%), seizures (1%), posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (9%), and hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (7%). Factors associated with an increased risk of developing septic encephalopathy included pulmonary infection, sepsis inducted by a gram-positive organism, increased sequential organ failure assessment score, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score at admission, and longer jICU stay. Postmortem neuropathological findings, described in three studies (n=159), noted acute brain injury in 47% of patients. The use of neuromonitoring tools – including electroencephalogram for seizure detection and transcranial Doppler and near infrared spectroscopy for monitoring cerebral hemodynamic changes in early ischemia – was discussed in 26 studies (n=1,358). Cognitive outcomes up to 12 months after discharge were reported in just six studies (n=415), with cognitive impairment in at least one domain identified in 30%. “In-hospital neurologic complications are common in patients with sepsis,” the researchers conclude. “However, the mechanism and timing of those sepsis-associated complications are poorly understood and there are limited data on standardized neuromonitoring in this population.”