Guest blogger Marijke Vroomen Durning, RN, is a health writer in Montreal, Canada, who enjoys demystifying the medical world for the everyday person. She also is actively involved in health awareness and is currently working with Sepsis Alliance to help raise awareness among the general public.
Every 2.5 minutes someone in the United States dies from sepsis or septic shock, and the numbers are rising. In June 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report revealing that hospitalizations for sepsis had more than doubled between 2000 and 2008, climbing from 621,000 to 1,141,000.
Sepsis is a body’s overwhelming response to an infection which may be as common as an abscessed tooth or as serious as meningitis. It is the third most common cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 215,000 people per year. Developing countries also suffer badly, as mothers who die after childbirth often do so because of a uterine infection that leads to sepsis. People with malaria or AIDS usually fall to the disease as their bodies succumb to infection.
Aside from the human toll, sepsis also takes a financial toll. According to the CDC report, hospital costs for sepsis in 2008 were an estimated $14.6 billion dollars, not taking into consideration the long-term expenses of patients who survive sepsis with life-altering bodily afflictions. Such conditions include amputations of one or more limbs, organ dysfunction, or mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disease and memory loss.
One might assume that sepsis would be common knowledge given its clear impact on global affairs. According to a 2010 survey, however, only one-third of Americans have heard of the disease. Though it is responsible for a high rate of fatalities, it is rarely listed as the cause of death which is instead usually attributed to complications with pneumonia, cancer, diabetes, or surgery.
“When someone dies of an infection, they die of sepsis,” says James O’Brien, MD, MSc, intensive care physician, Associate Professor for The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, and board member of Sepsis Alliance. “There are very effective therapies for sepsis that would save thousands of lives if sepsis was simply treated as the medical emergency it is.” Immediate treatment with antibiotics and intravenous fluids is the best treatment, but the onset of sepsis must first be recognized in a patient and acknowledged. In North America, O’Brien adds, we fail by not treating it quickly enough when we do recognize it.
There is no definitive test for sepsis; it is diagnosed by assembling the pieces of a symptoms puzzle. The most common signs include:
* High fever or lower than normal blood temperature
* Rapid heart rate (over 90 beats per minute)
* Rapid breathing
* Low blood pressure
* Confusion or unconsciousness
* Low urine output
Although any type of infection can cause sepsis, it is most commonly caused by infections in:
* The urinary tract
* The abdomen
* The lungs
* Surgical wounds
Unfortunately, many patients who find themselves with these symptoms question whether or not they are sick enough to seek help. “When you feel sicker than you’ve ever felt before, when you feel that you’re getting worse instead of improving, that’s a sign that you should be seen by a doctor,” advises Dr. O’Brien. “And say the word, say that you’re concerned about sepsis,” he continues. In short, patients must speak up in order to get the necessary rapid response by caretakers underway. If someone does go into septic shock, for every hour they aren’t treated, their chances of survival drop by another 7 percent.
While sepsis isn’t 100 percent preventable, people can lower their risk of developing it by taking some simple precautions, says Dr. O’Brien:
* Wash your hands frequently and properly. Keeping virus and bacteria exposure to a minimum will keep you healthier.
* Get vaccinated. Speak to your doctor to see what vaccinations you may need. They may include vaccines for influenza, pneumococcus, and meningitis – all infections that can cause sepsis.
* Clean cuts and scrapes right away and watch for signs of infection. See a doctor if you have any concerns.
CONNECT THE DOTS
To learn more about building sepsis awareness and what you can do to get involved, visit The Surviving Sepsis Campaign. Yearly influenza vaccinations are a good step towards preventing the possibility of sepsis. There is hope that a universal flu vaccine will help increase vaccination rates if and when it becomes available. Good hand washing techniques will also help prevent infection from viruses and bacteria. This video, Sepsis: Emergency, describes what sepsis is and how quickly it can strike.
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