BU
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VOL. XV NO. 4
www.healthcareenvironmentalsolutions.com
20
ER 19 IS S’ /2 SU G 0 E UID E
WINTER 2019/20
Sepsis: Major Killer Unknown to Many
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t can start as a simple infection. It can end in death. What triggers such a life-threatening condition is sepsis, the body’s extreme reaction to an infection. Without quick intervention, sepsis/septic shock can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death. “Sepsis is a medical emergency,” notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Time matters.” Dr. Steven Q. Simpson, chief medical officer of the Sepsis Alliance and professor of medicine at the University of Kansas, goes even further, labeling sepsis “a public health crisis.” According to the non-profit Sepsis Alliance, more than 258,000 people will die each year in the U.S. from sepsis, a number that is greater than those who die from prostate, breast and lung cancer combined. More than 1.7 million people in America will develop sepsis every year. Worldwide, sepsis affects 27 million to 30 million people annually, with 7 million to 9 million deaths, one death every 3.5 seconds, according to the Global Sepsis Alliance, co‑founded by the Sepsis Alliance. Depending on the country, mortality varies between 15 percent to more than 50 percent, said the global alliance, which represents 1 million caregivers in more than 70 countries.
By P.J. Heller
“The problem is that sepsis quietly sneaks up on unsuspecting victims, who often think they have a severe and sudden case of the flu. The symptoms can be tricky to spot.” “A relatively healthy person can get very sick, very quickly, sometimes before they even realize they have an infection,” said the Sepsis Alliance, founded in 2007 by retired endodontist Dr. Carl Flatley, whose daughter Erin died of septic shock when she was 23 years old. “Anyone can get sepsis,” agreed the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the National Institutes of Health. “The people at highest risk are infants, children, older adults, and people who have serious injuries or medical problems such as diabetes, AIDS, cancer, or liver disease.”
The CDC says 80 percent of sepsis cases begin outside of the hospital. “More than 90 percent of adults and 70 percent of children who developed sepsis had a health condition that may have put them at risk,” it said. “The problem is that sepsis quietly sneaks up on unsuspecting victims, who often think they have a severe and sudden case of the flu,” said Regina Hoffman, executive director of the Patient Safety Authority, an independent state health agency in Pennsylvania. “The symptoms can be tricky to spot.” Sepsis can initially be hard to diagnose, because some of those symptoms — fever, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing and low blood pressure — mimic other conditions. Other symptoms can include extreme pain or discomfort, confusion or disorientation, chills, or clammy or sweaty skin. “Sepsis is a major challenge in hospitals, where it’s one of the leading causes of death,” NIGMS said. “It’s also a main reason why people are readmitted to the hospital. Sepsis occurs unpredictably and can progress rapidly.” Left unchecked, sepsis can progress to septic shock — dangerously low blood pressure and organ shutdown — which makes premature death more likely. Well-known personalities who died due
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