From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sepsis
is a very dangerous
disease
that occurs when an
infection
goes wrong. Normally the
immune system
of the body is able to fight the
germs
and overcome the infection, but in sepsis something goes wrong. The
pathogen
was at some point able to get into the
blood
or tissues.
[1]
The term sepsis is frequently used to refer to septicemia (
blood poisoning
). Septicemia is only one type of sepsis.
[1]
[2]
Bacteremia
specifically refers to the presence of
bacteria
in the bloodstream (
viremia
and
fungemia
are the terms used for
viruses
and
fungi
). A sepsis is a
medical emergency
, as it can put the life in danger, if it is not acted on.
[3]
Common symptoms of sepsis are
inflammations
all over the body. This is often combined with high
fever
. Today, people believe, these symptoms are caused by the
immune system
trying to fight the disease. Because of the strong reactions,
organs
can be damaged in the process. In a sense, the immune system over-reacts the germs and goes wrong, causing damage to the organs.
In the
United States
, sepsis is the leading cause of death for
ICU
patients which do not have heart problems. Data from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
shows it is the tenth most common cause of death overall.
[4]
Older people, those with a weak immune system and those with a strong illness suffer from sepsis more often. It is also more dangerous to them. It occurs in 1%-2% of all hospitalizations and accounts for as much as 25% of
intensive care unit
(ICU) bed utilization. It is a major cause of death in intensive care units worldwide, with mortality rates that range from 20% for sepsis to 40% for
severe sepsis
to over 60% for
septic shock
.
Severe sepsis and septic shock are more severe forms of sepsis. With severe sepsis, one or more organs fail to work. Septic shock is when sepsis is combined with very low
blood pressure
.
Today, the bacterial forms of sepsis can be treated with
antibiotics
. In addition, the fluids (blood) containing the germs have to be replaced. It might also be necessary to functionally replace the organs that failed. It is important to begin to treat the sepsis as quickly as possible, as each hour it is left untreated will raise the chances of death by 5% to 10%.
About half the people affected and untreated die from the condition. Rapid access to treatment will increase the chances of survival in most cases.