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Septic Shock

Septic Shock



Overview

Septic shock is a serious medical condition that can occur when an infection in your body causes extremely low blood pressure and organ failure due to sepsis. Septic shock is life-threatening and requires immediate medical treatment. It’s the most severe stage of sepsis.

What’s the difference between septic shock and sepsis?

Septic shock is the last and most dangerous stage of sepsis. Sepsis can be divided into three stages: sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock.

Sepsis: Sepsis is life-threatening. It happens when your immune system overreacts to an infection.

Severe sepsis: This is when sepsis causes your organs to malfunction. This is usually because of low blood pressure, a result of inflammation throughout your body.

Septic shock: Septic shock is the last stage of sepsis and is defined by extremely low blood pressure, despite lots of IV (intravenous) fluids

Symptoms

Septic shock is the third stage of sepsis. Early signs of sepsis can include:

Fast heart rate.

Fever or hypothermia (low body temperature).

Shaking or chills.

Warm, clammy or sweaty skin.

Confusion or disorientation.

Hyperventilation (rapid breathing).

Shortness of breath.

When sepsis turns to septic shock, you may experience additional symptoms. These include:

Very low blood pressure.

Lightheadedness.

Little or no urine output.

Heart palpitations.

Cool and pale limbs.

Skin rash.

Causes

Any infection can lead to sepsis which can then develop into septic shock if it worsens. Not every infection will lead to sepsis or septic shock. But, if an infection causes enough inflammation, it can develop into sepsis. Most of the common infections are from bacteria, but both viruses and fungi can also cause infections and sepsis. Infections can start anywhere but commonly begin in your lungs, bladder or stomach.

Risk Factor

Your septic shock risk increases if you have a weakened immune system which increases your risk for sepsis. People with weakened immune systems include:

Newborns.

Those over age 65.

Pregnant women.

People who use recreational drugs.

People with artificial joints or heart valves.

People with chronic medical conditions have an increased risk of sepsis. These conditions include:

AIDS.

Diabetes.

Leukemia or lymphoma.

Immune disorders.

In addition, people who’ve had recent infections, surgeries, transplants or medical devices implanted have an increased risk of sepsis.

Complications

Septic shock is a very serious medical condition. It’s the most severe stage of sepsis. Septic shock can lead to:

Brain damage.

Lung failure.

Heart failure.

Kidney failure.

Gangrene.

Death.

Diagnosis

Your healthcare provider may suspect sepsis if you’ve had an infection and you suddenly develop a fever or hypothermia, rapid heart rate or breathing rate, or low blood pressure.

Your healthcare provider may run blood tests to check for:

Presence of bacteria and/or infection.

Complete blood count.

Blood chemistries, including lactate.

Blood oxygen levels.

Organ malfunction.

Your healthcare provider may also collect samples of your urine, saliva, tissues and/or cerebrospinal fluid for further tests.

In addition, you may have imaging tests to find the source of infection. These imaging tests include:

Chest X-ray.

Computed tomography (CT) scan.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan

Treatment

If you have septic shock, you need immediate treatment. Treatment is usually in an intensive care unit (ICU).

Your healthcare provider will start you on antibiotics immediately. They will also give you fluids through your vein (intravenously) to rehydrate you and help increase your blood pressure.

You may receive oxygen through a face mask or a nasal cannula, a small plastic tube with two openings for your nostrils. A breathing tube may be placed in your windpipe (trachea) to connect you to a breathing machine (ventilator) if you can’t breathe well on your own.

In addition, you may need surgery to remove the source of the infection. Abscesses may be drained. Dead or infected tissue may be removed. Catheters, tubes and medical devices may be removed or changed.

If fluids don’t increase your blood pressure, you may receive medication to raise it. Medications such as vasopressin (Pitressin®) or norepinephrine (Levophed®) cause your blood vessels to narrow and increase the blood flow to your organs.

You may receive insulin if the septic shock has increased your blood sugar (glucose) levels.

If fluids and medication haven’t helped increase your blood pressure, you may receive corticosteroids.

Type of Doctor Department : Intensive care medicine specialists and emergency room physicians

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