Initial symptoms of sepsis are flu-like symptoms: high fever, chills, sweating, loss of activity. However, particular anxiety and suspicion of sepsis should be caused by: loss of consciousness and progressive failure of important organs and lack of response to treatment with standard antibiotics.
THE RISK OF ACCOMMODATION ON SEPS ?
The risk of sepsis
The factors that facilitate the occurrence of sepsis are:
- bad condition of the body's immune system
- chronic diseases that reduce immunity and the overall performance of the body
- damaged, inefficient important organs (heart, liver, kidneys, etc.)
- presence of a foreign body in the body that may promote infection (eg catheters)
- condition after transplantation of an important organ (kidney, liver, heart) and the use of drugs to prevent rejection (immunosuppressive)
- malnutrition, including those caused by starvation (eg anorexia), pathological lack of food assimilation.
Circumstances that increase the risk of sepsis
Circumstances that increase the risk of sepsis are prior major surgery, systemic shock, severe burns and injuries, prior chronic treatment with steroids, the mentioned anti-rejection (immunosuppressive) drugs, concomitant chronic diseases that damage important organs. Many people whose death is attributed to complications associated with surgery, severe trauma or cancer - actually die as a result of sepsis. It is worth knowing that this disease can occur in people of all ages, both healthy and previously suffering from other diseases. Although age is very important in the risk assessment of sepsis, infants, premature babies and the elderly with reduced immunity are particularly at risk.
The social problem of sepsis
Currently, the onset of severe sepsis is starting to build up. There are several reasons for the increase in cases of severe sepsis. The most important of them are:
- increasing resistance to antibiotics
- lowering of systemic immunity due to faulty lifestyle and nutrition
- increase in the so-called risk groups with reduced immunity to infection, mainly due to aging population,
- more and more frequent surgical treatment that exposes antibiotic-resistant hospital infections
Terrible epidemiology
It is said that severe sepsis, often not included in hospital statistics, now kill more patients than stroke, lung cancer and breast cancer combined. In the European Union, around 146 thousand dies annually due to severe sepsis. patients. In the US about 750,000 are detected annually. cases of severe sepsis, and in the last 20 years the number of people treated for sepsis has doubled. Although Poland does not currently have a list of morbidity and mortality due to sepsis - it is undoubtedly the incidence of the disease is clearly growing. The meningococci, including those attacking adults, have a particular contribution to sepsis infection. Microbes from the so-called group C cause death in 10% of patients, while in another 20% they cause permanent neurological damage such as hearing loss, brain damage, epileptic attacks or loss of limbs. Fortunately, we have a vaccine against meningococcal type C.
There is a meningococcal vaccine
This vaccine is especially recommended for infants from 2 to 12 months of age and they use three doses of the vaccine. It is also recommended for older children and adults, especially the elderly. Then, a single dose is sufficient. For example, the NeisVac-C vaccine belonging to the so-called New generation of conjugate vaccines is characterized by proven safety of use and high efficacy.The advantage of the conjugate vaccine over traditional simple polysaccharide vaccines is the ability of the new vaccine to induce the so-called immune memory, which provides long-term protection, even in infants and young children. It has been documented that the use of a conjugate vaccine significantly reduces the mortality and morbidity of infections caused by meningococcal group C. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine available to protect against infections caused by meningococcal group B as well as many other infections initiating sepsis.
Literature
1. Data of the National Institute of Hygiene
2. http://www.sepsa.pl/s_definicja.shtml
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious
Ed. Edward Ozga Michalski, MA
Consultation: lek. med. Ewa Pakuła
