Septicemia

Septicemia General Information

If a patient deals with this terrible medical condition, the doctor has the responsibility to inform him or her about the risks. This section of our presentation contains important and useful information. But if you still have questions in what concerns your disorder, we advise you to contact a specialist in this type of infections. Septicemia is the clinical name for blood poisoning and can also be known as bacteremia with sepsis. This type of disorder is associated with the existence of different bacteria in the bloodstream, leading to severe medical conditions that threaten the patient’s life. This serious disease worsens very quickly and if it is not discovered in time and treated properly, death occurs in a few hours because it spreads rapidly throughout the blood cells. If the patient does not receive an adequate treatment, Septicemia usually progresses to septic shock, an advanced stage that has a high rate of mortality (over 60%), caused by gram-negative bacteria.

The progress of this type of infection depends on the type of microorganism that is involved. This acute invasion of the bloodstream is caused by the toxic products released by organisms or by the immune system itself, as a fight against these harmful agents. Septicemia can be caused by infections in any part of the body, for example infections of the urinary tract, lungs, stomach, liver etc. It usually comes before or immediately after meningitis (infections of the CNS – central nervous system), osteomyelitis (infections of bones) or infections of other tissues.

Septicemia Symptoms

As any other type of medical condition, this one too presents at the beginning a milder form that is not that dangerous and with the proper treatment resolves quickly. The first signs and symptoms of Septicemia may be unnoticeable for a patient, but obvious for a doctor. A person suffering from this type of infectious disease looks very ill and accuses rapid beat of the heart, looses interest in food, spiking fevers, has cold hands and feet, rapid breathing or chills and becomes agitated, anxious and lethargic. Because Septicemia spreads very quickly, these signs and symptoms get worse and progress to shock with falling blood pressure, hypothermia (decreased temperature of the blood), changes in the mental status, such as confusion or delirium.

If a specific type of red spots appear on the skin (a medical condition called ecchymosis or petechiae), then the patient presents serious problem of blood clotting. Patients may develop a cluster of tiny blood spots, called hemorrhagic rash that looks like pin pricks in the skin. Without a treatment, the rash gets bigger and it looks like fresh bruises that will join together and form extended areas of purple damaged skin with local discoloration. The urine output may be absent or just very low. The manifestations of Septicemia are characteristics for many patients, although some persons may experience symptoms in a different manner. This happens because our organism reacts different to the harmful organisms that attack it. Because these symptoms may resemble to those of other conditions, it is advisable to consult a physician.

Septicemia Treatment

Septicemia requires careful and close medical attention and permanent surveillance of the patient. Because it tends to evolve rapidly to severe stages, this type of infection is considered dangerous and really threatening for every patient’s life. As in the case of other less serious diseases, a fast diagnosis may have a big importance in the process of curing. You chances to survive to Septicemia are bigger if the disease is discovered in time. If you present any of the signs and symptoms listed above or you know you have been exposed to harmful organisms, we strongly advise you to call immediately your health care provider. He or she must do some exams and tests to rule out other similar conditions and to set the exact diagnosis. The physical examination usually reveals pneumonia, cellulitis, meningitis, epiglottitis or other associated diseases, low pressure of the blood, fever or low temperature of the body. The tests that are usually done to confirm Septicemia include: urine and blood culture, CBC (complete blood count), CSF culture, platelet count, blood gases, PTT, fibrinogen levels, PT (clotting studies) or culture of any abnormal skin lesion. After receiving the results of these test and if they confirm Septicemia, then the patient must receive immediately an appropriate treatment option. Usually, this is a very serious medical condition that requires hospitalization in most cases. If the patient’s health status is severe, he/she may be sent in an ICU (intensive care unit) to be closely monitored.  The blood pressure is usually maintained with the help of medicines and fluid administrated intravenously (IV, intro the vein). If it is needed, the patient will receive supportive treatment (will receive oxygen).

In the case of a blood clotting abnormality, the doctors will decide to give to the patients certain blood products as plasma. What treatment option fits best with the patient’s medical condition will be decided by a physician. He or she will evaluate the following factors: age, medical history, tolerance for certain therapies, medications or procedures, overall health, development of the condition, preferences and expectations for the course of Septicemia. Because this infectious disorder represents a medical emergency, in most cases, the treatment is based on antibiotics. Even if this disease is only suspected, doctors should initiate broad spectrum antibiotics given into the veins. Only after discovering the origin of the organism causing the infection the levels of antibiotics can be lowered. The source of infection is removed surgically. Small children receive a combination between a beta-lactam antibiotic, called Ampicilin and an aminoglycoside, called Gentamicin. The doctors must keep their patients away from septic shock; in this case, the death rate is significantly high, over 60%. Without these treatment options, this type of infectious blood disorder leads to serious complications, for example septic shock, adrenal collapse, ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome), Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome and finally, death. There are vaccines against this terrible medical condition. We advise each parent to call his/her health care provider if their child is not current on all vaccinations.