The dangers of sepsis

Yesterday was World Sepsis Day. If you’ve never heard of sepsis before, you might have heard of blood poisoning or septicaemia. That’s what sepsis used to be called. There’s a good reason for changing the name, but before I get to that let me explain what sepsis is.

Sepsis can happen when someone is infected with a microbe and that infection triggers their body to attack its own tissues and organs. The original infection could be a serious lung infection, like pneumonia. Or it could start out as a simple urinary tract infection or skin abscess.

Those most at risk of developing sepsis are the very young and the very old, as well as people with chronic illnesses like diabetes or diseases of the lungs and kidneys, and those who are pregnant or have recently given birth. People with a weakened immune system, like those who are on steroids for inflammatory conditions or who are undergoing chemotherapy for cancer are also at risk.

With a list that long, it’s probably not surprising that the number of people around the world who develop sepsis is huge. It’s estimated that there are as many as 50 million cases of sepsis a year, of which at least 11 million people die. That’s staggering – one person dying every 2.8 seconds. Here in Aotearoa-New Zealand about 10,000 people develop sepsis each year and one in four of them die. One of the reasons sepsis is so deadly is because it can develop quickly so people often don’t get the treatment they need in time. The good news is that if we all got better at knowing what signs to look for, people could be diagnosed and treated earlier.

The word sepsis is also a great mnemonic for remembering the warning signs to watch for.

S is for slurred speech or confusion.

E is for extreme shivering or muscle pain.

P is for peeing, or rather not peeing for a day.

S is for severe breathlessness or breathing very fast.

I is for ‘‘it feels like you are going to die’’.

S is for skin that’s mottled or discoloured. If someone you know is unwell or has a fever and shows any one of these signs, call your GP or the emergency services and tell them you are worried it might be sepsis.

Medical specialists have developed what they call the ‘‘Sepsis Six bundle’’ which involves giving the person oxygen if they need it, alongside antibiotics and fluids, as well as taking some blood to try to grow the microbe causing the sepsis, a lactic acid measurement, and measuring the amount of pee the person is producing to make sure enough blood is flowing to the kidneys.

If these six things are done within one hour, the chance of someone dying from sepsis is halved.

For more information on sepsis check out sepsis.org.nz.

About 10,000 people develop sepsis each year and one in four of them die.