infections
Sepsis and Septic Shock
Introduction
 is a serious bodywide response to Bacteremia or another infection plus malfunction or failure of an essential system in the body. Usually, sepsis results from certain bacterial infections, sometimes acquired in a hospital. Having certain conditions (such as a weakened immune system), certain chronic disorders, an artificial joint or heart valve, and certain heart valve abnormalities, increases the risk. At first, people have a high (or sometimes low) body temperature, sometimes with shaking chills and weakness. As sepsis worsens, the heart beats rapidly, breathing becomes rapid, people become confused, and blood pressure drops. Doctors suspect the diagnosis based on symptoms and confirm it by detecting bacteria in a sample of blood, urine, or other material. Antibiotics are given immediately, along with oxygen and fluids by vein and sometimes medications to increase blood pressure. (See also Introduction to Bacteremia, Sepsis, and Septic Shock .) Usually, the body’s response to infection is limited to the specific area infected, for example symptoms of a urinary tract infection are often limited to the bladder. But in sepsis, the response to infection occurs throughout the body—called a systemic response. This response typically includes an abnormally high temperature ( Fever in Adults ) or low temperature ( Rapid heart rate Rapid breathing rate An None Although many infections cause such symptoms throughout the body, in sepsis organs begin to malfunction and blood flow becomes inadequate to parts of the body. is sepsis that causes dangerously low blood pressure ( Shock ). As a result, internal organs such as the lungs, kidneys, heart, and brain, typically receive too little blood, causing them to malfunction. Septic shock is diagnosed when blood pressure remains low despite intensive treatment with fluids by vein. Septic shock is life threatening. 