What is septicemia and how to cure it

A silent disease that can be successfully cured if recognized in time.

Between 6 and 9 million deaths per year, almost all preventable. It causes more deaths than conditions such as prostate cancer, breast cancer and HIV infection combined. This is septicemia, one of the most common pathologies, but also the most insidious: it is not always, in fact, identified in time to be treated effectively.

It is a little-known disease, whose name does not generate the same alarm in public opinion as terms such as cancer, stroke or heart attack. However, septicemia is a silent health threat, constantly growing: in the last 10 years, hospital admissions for this condition have almost doubled in the United States, exceeding those for heart attack.

What is septicemia?

Septicemia derives from the Greek word “ςεψις“, sēpsis, or putrefaction, decomposition of organic material. Its first mention in a literary work dates back to Homer, but it will be only with the nineteenth century, and the formulation of the “Theory of germs”, that this pathology will be defined more precisely.

The most widely used definition, at the moment, describes septicemia as a condition triggered by an infectious stimulus.

The infection, not adequately controlled, determines the massive spread of bacteria, such as streptococci, staphylococci, pneumococci or meningococci, and less often fungi, throughout the body. This sets in motion an inflammatory response that involves the whole body, upsetting its balance: in fact, the immune system tries to eliminate the infection, but without success, and the consequences of a massive activation of these defensive mechanisms have a negative impact on the whole body.

Septicemia can have a decidedly insidious onset, as it originates with a localized infection, for example in the lungs and respiratory tract, gastrointestinal or urinary tract, or due to wounds or some skin lesion.

Any type of infection, not treated properly, can potentially lead to complications such as the development of septicemia, which requires immediate and specific care.

Among the most frequent infectious causes are:

The phenomenon of bacteremia

Under normal conditions, the activity of the immune system is limited to the area or organ affected by the infection: through specific inflammatory mechanisms, our body prevents bacteria from spreading to the rest of the body. However, there are special cases in which the patient is debilitated or with reduced immune function (such as after a spinal cord or other organ transplant or after debilitating infectious diseases) and the body is therefore unable to completely eliminate the bacteria that have entered the circulatory stream.

In these circumstances, a phenomenon known as bacteremia can occur: in other words, bacteria come out of the initial site of infection, to invade the blood. The result? The inflammatory response will also no longer affect a localized area, but the entire organism. The immune response, as a result, will be acute and often difficult for the patient’s body to bear.

Bacteremia can be caused not only by infections, but also by seemingly harmless daily activities, such as brushing teeth, or by dental or medical procedures performed with instruments or in environments that are not perfectly sterile. The presence of an artificial prosthesis or heart valve can also provoke the onset of this phenomenon.

However, the presence of bacteria in the blood does not always cause a real septicemia, that is, a systematic spread of microorganisms at an extended level throughout the body; Normally, in fact, bacteria are present only in small quantities and the immune system quickly removes them from the circulatory flow.

However, if pathogens accumulate in large numbers, remaining in circulation for a prolonged period of time, especially in people who have compromised immune defenses, bacteremia can give rise to other infections and sometimes can trigger that serious response of the organism that is sepsis.

The evolution of septicemia: sepsis

When the response of the immune system to eliminate the infection expands, causing the appearance of an inflammatory response spread to the whole organism, it is called sepsis.

This pathology can lead to the formation of blood clots, which can give rise to real thrombi. These aggregates can decrease or completely stop the normal flow of blood flow to peripheral tissues and vital organs, such as the brain or heart, thus depriving them of nutrients and oxygen.

In severe cases, it may occur that one or more organs undergo a total or partial inability to perform their function, giving rise to renal, cardiac or respiratory failure. Not only will the tissue be severely damaged, but the organ itself will suffer, sometimes undergoing irreversible impairment.

Another serious consequence of sepsis is hypotension, or excessive reduction in blood pressure, which can lead the patient to septic shock, a potentially fatal condition.

The term septicemia is sometimes misused as a synonym for sepsis, but in reality the latter represents a complication of the former. In other words, the generalized inflammation that occurs following a septicemia and that the immune system cannot successfully eliminate is called sepsis, and does not correspond to septicemia tout court but to a further complication.

Symptoms

The characteristics of septicemia, in terms of duration and extent of symptoms, depend on many factors, related to both the host and the type of pathogenic microorganisms.

The symptoms of septicemia manifest themselves rather quickly and are different in the initial and later stages.

Stages Next steps
Chills Mental confusion
High body temperature (fever) Nausea and vomiting
Very rapid and labored breathing Red dots that appear on the skin
Increased heart rate Reduction of diuresis
Hypotension
Weakness
Diarrhoea
Muscle pain
Hypothermia
Loss of consciousness

If septicemia is in an advanced state, other more serious signs may be added, for which it is essential – if you have not yet done so – to go to the emergency room: for example, bleeding, necrosis of skin tissue, intense and generalized pain, heart failure.

Septicemia in children

When septicemia occurs in children younger than 5 years old, detecting it can be difficult. While for adults, in fact, it is possible to establish with certainty some symptoms that can act as an alarm bell, for children it is complex to clarify the causes of even a serious malaise.

It is therefore important to contact your doctor immediately, so as to speed up both the formulation of the diagnosis and the administration of treatment, if you observe that your child manifests some of the symptoms that septicaemia tends to cause more frequently. It is appropriate to contact a doctor if, in particular, the child:

  • assumes a lethargic attitude
  • has patchy, pale or bluish skin
  • is cold to the touch (hypothermia)
  • breathing heavily
  • has seizures

How is septicemia diagnosed?

It is a disease often underestimated in the early stages, but if detected early can be successfully treated.

The suspicion of septicemia can arise in case of:

  • high body temperature
  • increased heart rate
  • rapid and labored breathing.

If these symptoms are observed, especially if the person has undergone surgery or is suffering from infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, urinary tract or has suffered trauma, such as wounds or burns, you should not limit yourself to taking a generic medicine at home, perhaps to lower the fever: it is necessary, instead, to consult specialists. Once informed and after making a first visit, the doctor may order blood tests, to be carried out in the clinic or hospital, to evaluate:

– the number of white blood cells, as their increase is one of the signs related to ongoing infections

– any coagulation disorders

– the function of the liver or kidneys

– the availability of oxygen

– electrolyte balance.

Based on the results of this test, the specialist may decide to carry out further laboratory tests, such as:

  • urine and stool test
  • Analysis of secretions associated with burns or wounds
  • analysis of respiratory secretions.

In the event that the location of the outbreak is unclear, tests such as a CT scan can can be performed to identify the precise site associated with the area of primary manifestation of symptoms.

Treatment

If detected in the early stages, when vital organs have not yet been involved, septicaemia can be cured with antibiotic therapy. Since there is often no time to accurately identify the bacterial strain that caused the septicemia, treatment is usually carried out with broad-spectrum antibiotics, to reduce the bacterial load as much as possible and thus favor the treatment and healing process.

If the disease is at a more advanced stage, the antibiotic may not be enough and the patient will almost certainly be hospitalized, and most likely in an intensive care unit. The hospitalization could be prolonged for a few weeks, until the patient is no longer in danger.

Depending on the overall state of health, it may be necessary to subject the person to:

– mechanical ventilation, in case of pulmonary insufficiency

– dialysis in case of renal failure

– surgery to remove the cause of the infection, such as a buildup of pus (abscess), while waiting for the body to respond to the infection of the virus or bacterium responsible for the infection process

– intravenous feeding and hydration.

To keep blood pressure under control, you may need to administer vasopressor medications.

Who is at risk of septicemia?

Anyone can be affected by an infection that can evolve into septicemia. However, there are some risk factors that could increase the likelihood of this disease occurring, and that make certain segments of the population more vulnerable than others.

Those most at risk of sepsis or septicemia are:

– people with weakened immune systems, including for example people who have undergone spinal cord or other organ transplantation, but also pregnant or breastfeeding women

– babies and children

– elderly patients

– people suffering from chronic diseases, such as diabetes, AIDS, cancer and liver or kidney disease

– subjects hospitalized due to severe trauma or burns.

Can it be prevented?

Prevention of local infections is the best way to protect the body from the risk of a systemic disease such as septicemia. To this end, among the simplest strategies to adopt we remember the essential hygiene and cleaning procedures, especially in the presence of lesions of the skin tissue, useful not only to prevent and fight infection but also, in general, to safeguard the health and well-being of the body:

  • wash your hands thoroughly especially in a hospital environment
  • Always carefully disinfect wounds or abrasions
  • Cover each wound or cut with a sterile plaster, after properly washing and disinfecting the affected area.

Since rapid intervention can mean the difference between life and death, if septicemia is suspected, it is best to seek medical attention as quickly as possible.

Instead, it is advisable to avoid the use of non-prescribed drugs, which can aggravate the course of septicemia, worsening the condition of patients and delaying the administration of effective treatments, for which maximum timeliness is necessary.

Joycelyn Elders is the author and creator of EmpowerEssence, a health and wellness blog. Elders is a respected public health advocate and pediatrician dedicated to promoting general health and well-being.

The blog covers a wide range of topics related to health and wellness, with articles organized into several categories.

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