Sepsis: Recognition, Mechanisms, and Management

Signs and symptoms of sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by the body’s dysregulated response to an infection. Common signs and symptoms include fever, low body temperature, rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, confusion, and swelling (edema). Symptoms may also reflect the underlying infection (for example, cough with pneumonia or painful urination with a kidney infection). In very young, older, or immunocompromised people, fever may be absent and body temperature may be low or normal. Early sepsis may present with fast heart rate, decreased urination, and high blood sugar. As sepsis becomes established or severe, it can lead to organ dysfunction and reduced blood flow, which may show up as low blood pressure, metabolic acidosis (often with faster breathing), worsening mental status, and problems with blood clotting that can progress to organ failure. Low blood pressure that does not improve after fluid replacement, or that requires medications to maintain blood pressure, is characteristic of septic shock.

0/2 modes complete

Sepsis causes and infectious organisms

0/2 modes complete