Sepsis may cause atypical blood clotting. The resulting small clots or burst blood vessels may damage or destroy tissues. Most people recover from mild sepsis, but the mortality rate for septic shock is about 30% to 40%. Also, an episode of severe sepsis raises the risk for future infections.
Research conducted at the Institute of Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan shows that many people die in the months and years following sepsis diagnosis and treatment. Forty percent of the study subjects who survived the first 30 days under hospital care died within two years.
Organs can fail, which could lead to death. By some estimates, severe sepsis or septic shock strikes nearly 1 million Americans each year. At least 200,000 of them die in the hospital shortly afterward. Many who survive recover completely.
Hospital mortality of patients with septic shock is more than 40% (2).
Septic Shock Recovery
Septic shock is a life-threatening stage of generalized infection, where the chance of patient survival is only about 50%, owing to multiple organ dysfunction associated with low blood pressure.
A 2018 retrospective analysis of more than 2 million U.S. sepsis hospitalizations reported that the median length of stay (LOS) for sepsis increased with disease severity ranging from 7.7 days, 10 days, and 12.6 days for sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock, respectively.
The average length of stay for severe sepsis hospitalizations decreased by approximately three days, from 14 days to 11 days (Figure 1).
Sepsis can overwhelm the body. This can cause vital organs to shut down. This usually starts with the kidneys. Blood pressure can drop dangerously low.
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.
Sepsis is a potentially fatal or life changing syndrome wherein the body responds to an infection with a systemic immune response. Many clinicians consider sepsis to have three stages, starting with sepsis and progressing to severe sepsis and septic shock.
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 occurs when a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection causes a significant response from the body's immune system, causing a high heart rate, fever, or fast breathing. Severe sepsis develops when the infection causes organ damage.
For example, the “golden hour” as applied to the treatment of critically children and adults with severe sepsis and septic shock is based upon early recognition, early administration of antibiotics, and early reversal of the shock state.
Sepsis can develop quickly from initial infection and progress to septic shock in as little as 12 to 24 hours. 1 You may have an infection that's not improving or you could even be sick without realizing it.
Once a person is diagnosed with sepsis, she will be treated with antibiotics, IV fluids and support for failing organs, such as dialysis or mechanical ventilation. This usually means a person needs to be hospitalized, often in an ICU.
Bacterial infections are one of the most common causes of sepsis. Fungal, parasitic and viral infections are also potential sepsis causes.
Sepsis may cause atypical blood clotting. The resulting small clots or burst blood vessels may damage or destroy tissues. Most people recover from mild sepsis, but the mortality rate for septic shock is about 30% to 40%. Also, an episode of severe sepsis raises the risk for future infections.
Septic shock: Septic shock is the last stage of sepsis and is defined by extremely low blood pressure, despite lots of IV (intravenous) fluids.
One-year and five-year crude survival for all sepsis patients (with 95% confidence intervals) were 87.5% (85.3%–89.3%), and 77.6%(74.5%–80.4%) respectively. The corresponding figures for the severe sepsis subgroup were 74.1% (67.9%–79.3%) and 66.2% (59.7%–72.0%).
One of the common signs of sepsis is an altered mental status. People with sepsis can be difficult to wake up or they may be confused, or seem out of it.
In severe cases of sepsis or septic shock, the large decrease in blood pressure and blood flow can kill organ tissue. If this happens, surgery may be required to remove the dead tissue.
Bacteria cause most cases of sepsis. But sepsis can also be a result of other infections, including viral infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza, or fungal infections. I.e. any infection can lead to sepsis.