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.
What causes sepsis? 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.
Up to 42% of sepsis presentations are culture negative, suggesting a non-bacterial cause. Despite this, diagnosis of viral sepsis remains very rare. Almost any virus can cause sepsis in vulnerable patients (e.g., neonates, infants, and other immunosuppressed groups).
Some of the most frequently isolated bacteria in sepsis are Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes), Klebsiella spp., Escherichia coli (E.
All sepsis-causing bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, group B streptococci, etc.) have polysaccharide capsules on their surface.
The organisms that most commonly cause early-onset sepsis include group B Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, and viridans streptococci. Infants often present within the first 24 hours after birth with clinical signs of sepsis, with respiratory distress as the most common presenting symptom.
Healthcare professionals should treat sepsis with antibiotics as soon as possible. Antibiotics are critical tools for treating life-threatening infections, like those that can lead to sepsis.
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.
Because they are so different from bacteria, which are single celled microorganisms, viruses cannot be treated with antibiotics.
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.
Immediate action required: Call 999 or go to A&E if:
a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis. difficulty breathing (you may notice grunting noises or their stomach sucking under their ribcage), breathlessness or breathing very fast.
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.
You may need to stay in hospital for several weeks.
Because stress may adversely affect health behaviors, leading to increased incidence of sepsis, we examined the role of tobacco and alcohol use in the stress-sepsis relationship.
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.
The organisms most frequently involved in early-onset neonatal sepsis of term and preterm infants together are GBS and Escherichia coli, which account for approximately 70% of infections combined.
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.
Blood tests may reveal the following signs suggestive of sepsis: Elevated or low white blood cells – Higher than usual levels of leukocytes, known as white blood cells (WBCs), are a sign of a current infection, while too few WBCs indicate that a person is at higher risk of developing one.
Symptoms of a viral infection depend on where you're infected, but some common ones include: Flu-like symptoms: fever, head and body aches, fatigue. Upper respiratory symptoms: sore throat, cough, sneezing. Digestive symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
In mild sepsis, complete recovery is possible at a quicker rate. On average, the recovery period from this condition takes about three to ten days, depending on the appropriate treatment response, including medication.
Blood tests
Complete blood count (CBC): One of the key takeaways of a CBC test in the context of a sepsis diagnosis is obtaining the white blood cell (WBC) count, as these cells help fight microbes in the blood.
The LUCCAASS mnemonic will assist the search for source: lung (pneumonia), urine (cystitis/pyelonephritis), cardiac (endocarditis), CNS (meningitis, encephalitis), abdominal (abscess, cholecystitis), arthritis (septic arthritis), spine (osteomyelitis, abscess), and skin (cellulitis, IV line/PICC infection).
Pre-Sepsis Depressive Symptoms Are Associated with Incident Cognitive Impairment in Survivors of Severe Sepsis: A Prospective Cohort Study of Older Americans.