The organs more frequently affected are kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, central nervous system, and hematologic system. This multiple organ failure is the hallmark of sepsis and determines patients' course from infection to recovery or death.
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.
Sepsis happens when an infection you already have triggers a chain reaction throughout your body. Infections that lead to sepsis most often start in the lung, urinary tract, skin, or gastrointestinal tract. Without timely treatment, sepsis can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.
Damage to the lungs can affect breathing. Another study, published in 2012 in the journal Shock, researchers found that sepsis survivors may be more vulnerable to developing viral respiratory (lung) infections. Other organs may be damaged as well, such as the kidneys or liver.
Sepsis can cause serious complications. These include kidney failure, gangrene, and death.
a high temperature (fever) or low body temperature. a change in mental state – like confusion or disorientation. slurred speech. cold, clammy and pale or mottled skin.
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.
As the body heals, the kidneys may begin functioning again. But in many cases, organ damage is permanent.
Many individuals are known to have regained normal health after severe sepsis without residual dysfunctions. In severe sepsis, the recovery period duration varies from patient to patient, as it depends on the number of organs impacted by the infection and the extent of organ dysfunction.
Many people who survive sepsis recover completely and their lives return to normal. However, as with some other illnesses requiring intensive medical care, some patients have long-term effects.
Many infections that cause sepsis start in the abdomen.
You may need to stay in hospital for several weeks.
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.
Your heart stops beating. Your brain stops. Other vital organs, including your kidneys and liver, stop. All your body systems powered by these organs shut down, too, so that they're no longer capable of carrying on the ongoing processes understood as, simply, living.
A person with sepsis might have one or more of the following signs or symptoms: High heart rate or weak pulse. Fever, shivering, or feeling very cold. Confusion or disorientation.
It's clear that sepsis doesn't occur without an infection in your body, but it is possible that someone develops sepsis without realizing they had an infection in the first place. And sometimes, doctors never discover what the initial infection was.
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.
Most sepsis is caused by bacterial infections, but it can also be caused by viral infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza; fungal infections; or noninfectious insults, such as traumatic injury.
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.
Around 40% of people who develop sepsis are estimated to suffer physical, cognitive, and/or psychological after effects. For most people, these effects will only last a few weeks, but others can face a long road to recovery and develop Post Sepsis Syndrome (PSS).
Abdominal sepsis represents the host's systemic inflammatory response to bacterial peritonitis. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality rates, and is the second most common cause of sepsis-related mortality in the intensive care unit.
Sepsis is a medical emergency that describes the body's systemic immunological response to an infectious process that can lead to end-stage organ dysfunction and death.
The crude mortality rate from sepsis and all three infection sites was lowest in the 0–14 years age group, which increased in every subsequent older age group and was highest in the greater than or equal to 85 age group.