Prognosis estimation is the basis for establishing the personal interventions in sepsis patients. Serum biomarkers are potential tools for predicting the outcomes of sepsis patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Here, we plan to perform a prospective study to investigate the prognostic value of serum biomarkers. We named this study Hospital Outcome of Host Heterogeneity, Organ dysfunction and Trajectory in sepsis (HOHHOT).

This prospective cohort study is being performed in several hospitals in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region between 2025 and 2027. The inclusion criteria were adult sepsis patients admitted to the ICU. A serum specimen will be collected at the onset of sepsis and stored at –80°C for future use. The endpoint of the HOHHOT study includes, but is not limited to, hospital outcome (eg, mortality, occurrence of organ dysfunction, treatment response and the progression of sepsis). We will analyse the predictive value of serum biomarkers for outcomes using a receiver operating characteristic curve and decision curve analysis. The association between baseline characteristics and serum biomarkers will be estimated using a logistic regression model, net reclassification index and integrated discriminatory index. We will also construct some predictive models using machine learning algorithms.

The HOHHOT study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University (NO: KY2025005). The findings derived from the HOHHOT study will be submitted to international academic journals.

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2500100770); pre-results.