Why we all need to be sepsis savvy

SEPSIS, also known as septicaemia or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition. 

It is caused by the way the body responds to germs — usually common bacteria which we all come into contact with every day without problems.

Sometimes the body responds abnormally to these infections and causes sepsis, potentially leading to shock and multiple organ failure.

As it’s triggered by bacterial infections, a cold or flu is unlikely to lead to sepsis, but it can occur following chest infections like pneumonia, water infections, problems in the abdomen like gall bladder infections, or simple skin injuries.

“Sepsis is better thought of not as a severe infection, but as the body’s response to an infection that begins to injure its own tissues and organs.

"It’s the immune system going into overdrive,” explains Dr Ron Daniels, a critical care consultant.

WHO’S AT RISK?

It is more likely to occur in the very old and very young, although people of any age can get it.

Diabetics, and people taking steroids or anti-cancer drugs are also more prone to infections/sepsis.

However, as Dr Daniels points out: “There also seems to be an element of bad luck.

“If I were to infect a hundred people in a room, only a handful of them would go on to develop sepsis. We don’t know why.”

MOVING QUICKLY:

Treatment is often a care package called the ‘Sepsis Six’; three treatments and three risk assessment measurements.

The treatments are rapid intravenous antibiotics, infection drainage, and fluid to restore circulation, as blood pressure tends to fall with sepsis and organs don’t get as much blood and oxygen.

Treatment should be started within an hour of the condition first being suspected.

For severe sepsis, for every hour that treatment is delayed, the risk of death goes up by 8%, but if the ‘Sepsis Six’ is used, the chance of surviving increases from 60% to 80%.

Dr Daniels notes that around one-in-10 people treated for sepsis still die — sometimes because they got to hospital too late, and some will have already been very old and ill, so it was difficult for their body to deal with the sepsis.

If caught early, the outlook is good for the vast majority of patients.

For this to happen, it’s vital that the general public, and medical professionals, are aware of warning signs.

SPOT THE SIGNS:

Key symptoms include slurred speech and confusion, extreme shivering and breathlessness, and mottled or very pale skin.

In children, symptoms can be slightly different, and doctors advise that if a child is breathing very fast, their skin looks a strange colour (mottled, blueish or very pale), they’re very lethargic or hard to wake up and have an abnormal or weak cry, medical attention should immediately be sought.

Dr Daniels points out that some people with sepsis will be very ill within hours, while others develop the condition over several days.

“It can be subtle,” he notes, “and this is why we call it the silent killer. It creeps up on you.

Public awareness is important, Dr Daniels adds.

“Not to be constantly fearful of it, but just to know that if they believe they’ve got an infection or have had one, and they start to feel very much worse, they need to have it on their radar and suggest to a health professional that it might be sepsis. Don’t be afraid to challenge them.”

* For more information, visit www.hse.ie