When the infection-fighting processes turn on the body, they cause organs to function poorly and abnormally. Sepsis may progress to septic shock. This is a dramatic drop in blood pressure that can lead to severe organ problems and death.
Sepsis occurs in response to an infection. When sepsis is not recognized early and managed promptly, it can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death.
Bacterial infections cause most cases of sepsis. Sepsis can also be a result of other infections, including viral infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza, or fungal infections.
When treatment or medical intervention is missing, sepsis is a leading cause of death, more significant than breast cancer, lung cancer, or heart attack. Research shows that the condition can kill an affected person in as little as 12 hours.
Septic shock: Septic shock is the last stage of sepsis and is defined by extremely low blood pressure, despite lots of IV (intravenous) fluids.
The condition can arise suddenly and progress quickly, and it's often hard to recognize. Sepsis was once commonly known as “blood poisoning.” It was almost always deadly. Today, even with early treatment, sepsis kills about 1 in 5 affected people.
Patients with sepsis accounted for 45% of ICU bed days and 33% of hospital bed days. The ICU length of stay (LOS) was between 4 and 8 days and the median hospital LOS was 18 days.
Data reveals that sepsis patients without organ failure have an 85% chance of surviving the debilitating disease. However, if the condition has advanced to debilitating septic shock, the patient's survival rate drops to 40%.
The early symptoms of sepsis include: a high temperature (fever) or, due to changes in circulation, a low body temperature instead. chills and shivering.
While any type of infection — bacterial, viral or fungal — can lead to sepsis, infections that more commonly result in sepsis include infections of: Lungs, such as pneumonia. Kidney, bladder and other parts of the urinary system. Digestive system.
The most common infections that cause sepsis are respiratory (like pneumonia) or urinary tract infections. But sepsis can also develop with influenza (the flu), an infected cut or scrape, or strep throat, to name a few.
Sepsis occurs unpredictably and can progress rapidly. In severe cases, one or more organ systems fail. In the worst cases, blood pressure drops, the heart weakens, and the patient spirals toward septic shock. Once this happens, multiple organs—lungs, kidneys, liver—may quickly fail, and the patient can die.
Sepsis is caused by an infection. Sepsis is triggered by the body's immune system response when the infection reaches the bloodstream. Chemicals are released into the bloodstream resulting in inflammation. This can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and even death.
Sepsis also damages the lining of the blood vessels, Wang said, making the person susceptible to blood clots and causing other problems that are "big players in heart disease," such as inflammation.
If sepsis is not treated early, it can turn into septic shock and cause your organs to fail. This is life threatening.
There are high mortality rates of around 50%-60% in elderly patients with severe sepsis and septic shock[4,9,73]. The mortality due to severe sepsis in elderly patients is 1.3-1.5 times higher than that in younger cohorts[4,9].
Severe sepsis = sepsis associated with organ dysfunction, hypoperfusion, or hypotension. Hypoperfusion and perfusion abnormalities may include, but are not limited to lactic acidosis, oliguria, or an acute alteration in mental status.
Average sepsis-related hospital length of stay improved from 3.35 days to 3.19 days to 2.94 days, a 4.8% and 12.1% reduction, respectively, relative to the pre-implementation baseline, and remained consistent at 2.92 days in the post-implementation steady-state period.
Sepsis can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and even death if it isn't treated quickly. In Maranhas' case, it led to a medically induced coma and 46 days in the hospital in intensive care.
"Sepsis is a common and deadly problem among patients who come to the emergency department," said Dr. Peltan. "While widely-accepted guidelines assume all sepsis patients will be admitted to the hospital, we found that about 16 percent are in fact discharged from the ED for outpatient management.
fever and/or chills. confusion or disorientation. difficulty breathing. fast heart rate or low blood pressure (hypotension)
However, there might be other symptoms related to sepsis based on where the infection is. Abdominal pain is one such symptom.
These conditions include: pulmonary embolism (PE), adrenal insufficiency, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), pancreatitis, anaphylaxis, bowel obstruction, hypovolemia, colitis, vasculitis, toxin ingestion/overdose/withdrawal, and medication effect.