Even a tiny cut can cause body to attack itself in killer reaction

SEPSIS is life-threatening and occurs when the body’s response to infection spirals out of control and makes it harm its own tissues and organs.

It is not a disease but an overreaction by the immune system to what usually starts out as a minor bacterial, fungal or viral infection.

About 50 per cent of cases are thought to be caused by respiratory infections, with urinary and stomach bugs each causing 20 per cent of incidences.

A minority of cases start with something as seemingly trivial as a cut, bite or sting.

The immune system’s response to any infection is to send white blood cells to attack the invading germs. But for reasons not well understood, in some cases it also attacks the body.

During this assault, blood pressure can drop to dangerously low levels and vital organs such as the heart, deprived of oxygen, begin to fail. This is known as septic shock.

Even with intensive medical care, sepsis can quickly lead to shock, multiple organ failure and death. But there is good evidence that prompt, appropriate action saves lives.

Mike Gillies, intensive care consultant at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, said: ‘Essentially, sepsis is the result of the body’s reaction to severe infection.

‘It’s a leading cause of death in the UK but not as well-known as other major killers. Sepsis is up there with lung cancer, strokes and heart disease but gets a fraction of the publicity.

‘In some ways it poses a greater risk because it can develop as a result of something very simple, such as pneumonia or urine infection, even a cut.

‘Over the past ten to 20 years there has been more focus on getting people to spot the signs of illnesses like lung cancer and heart disease – whenever you turn on the TV or look at the side of a bus there is an awareness campaign, which is great.

‘But there’s still a lot of work to be done as far as raising awareness of this under-recognised illness goes.’

Dr Gillies highlighted the need for early diagnosis of sepsis, highlighting damning figures that show that for every hour of delay in treatment, the risk of death rises by 8 per cent.

He said: ‘If it is caught early sepsis can be very easy to treat. And the longer a patient has gone undiagnosed, the harder it is to come back from. Sepsis is a leading cause of death in the UK but if we spot it early enough, lives can be saved.’

Sepsis is one of the few illnesses in the UK that can kill a healthy adult within hours.

Survivors often suffer chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, seizures, kidney impairment and bowel problems.

Professor Mike Griffin, an oesophago-gastric cancer surgeon at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Hospital and a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, said: ‘I see sepsis patients almost daily.

‘It’s a term that has become a dirty word among the public because they think it is this horrible illness in its own right, but that’s not true. Sepsis comes as a result of something else. It’s a set of symptoms that are associated with overwhelming infection in the body.

‘It mostly affects the elderly and those in poor health, usually with a compromised immune system, but it can affect the young. When it does, the impact can be catastrophic. Making the diagnosis is one thing but getting to the bottom of what is causing it is another.’

A probe by the BBC’s Panorama team found one in four NHS hospitals in England fails to give life-saving sepsis drugs in time to half of patients.

Dr Griffin said: ‘There are other conditions that masquerade as sepsis, such as an abnormal rhythm of the heart, even a bad chest, so it can be difficult.

‘There should be clinical guidelines on the diagnosis of sepsis in every hospital and GP surgery to help make doctors and the public aware. It’s important to get the message out.’

‘Impact can be catastrophic’