Translated from the Greek language, the word "sepsis"literally translates as" rotting. "This is a rather dangerous infectious disease of a person that develops as an inflammatory systemic process when fungi and bacteria, and subsequently their toxins, enter the bloodstream. Often, among people who do not have medical terminology, sepsis is called blood poisoning. This a serious disease is characterized by the absence of a progressive tendency to a speedy recovery and complicated course.In spite of the wide possibilities in the field of antifungal and antibacterial therapy, the percentage of lethal sepsis outcomes are kept at a fairly high level.
Causes of sepsis
The main causative agents of sepsis are various bacteria - streptococci, staphylococci, meningococci, pneumococci, enterococci, salmonella, Klebsiella, as well as fungi from the genus Aspergillus and Candida. In this case, the development of sepsis is caused not so much by the characteristics of the pathogen as by the atypical state of the human immune defense, by the inability to localize the primary focus of infection. In individuals, the same staphylococcus can be located on the mucosa for a long time without risk to life and health, and in other patients the same virus can cause sepsis with a possible fatal outcome.
Most often, sepsis quickly develops and progresses in people with reduced immunity due to past illnesses, heavy bleeding, heavy operations, lack of nutrition, or due to the use of immunosuppressive drugs. The ingress of infection into the blood can occur either with a local lesion, or with surgical interventions and medical manipulations.
As a rule, the primary focus of sepsis is an infectious lesion of bones, joints, soft tissues or internal organs: an extensive burn or wound, purulent skin diseases, genitourinary infections, osteomyelitis, etc. Particularly noteworthy are infections after abortion or childbirth - during the prohibition of medical abortion it was sepsis that was the main factor in the high mortality rate of women.
Symptoms and clinical picture of sepsis
The main feature of sepsis is the similarity of symptoms and the nature of the infection, regardless of the initial pathogen, since the manifestation of sepsis is a kind of response of the body to a strong infectious attack, which the immune system can not cope with.
The clinical picture of the disease consists, as a rule, of the manifestations of general intoxication and symptoms of the infectious focus. Intoxication is characterized by loss of appetite, severe weakness, tachycardia, chills, fever, shortness of breath, etc. Sepsis is also characterized by extensive damage to systems and organs with the development of renal, cardiac, respiratory failure, etc. A medical examination and examination reveals leukopenia or leukemia, increased ESR, hypoproteinemia, lymphopenia.
Timely diagnosis of sepsis
The diagnosis of sepsis is based on the clinical course of the disease, the timely detection of pathogenic microorganisms in human blood, the detection of lesions in tissues or organs.
Treatment and prevention of sepsis
In case of sepsis, treatment should be carried out immediately. Basically, it includes massive antifungal or antibacterial therapy, as well as detoxification. Treatment is necessarily carried out under intensive care, as in especially severe cases, an urgent blood transfusion may be required. With any form of sepsis, the prognosis for recovery is always serious. The more timely the correct treatment is started, the higher the patient's chances of a full recovery. The complexity of the treatment and diagnosis of sepsis is that the clinical picture of this serious disease is rather blurry.
Competent prevention of sepsis is always based on the timely and proper treatment of purulent foci, as well as on ensuring aseptic conditions during medical procedures. Also, the proper use of antibacterial drugs is attributed to the prevention of sepsis. It should be remembered that any fungi and bacteria are able to adapt to any, even a strong drug. The more serious antibiotics the patient takes, the more “smarter” and stronger our hidden enemies become. The use of modern antibacterial drugs without medical supervision deprives us of the opportunity to fight bacteria and fungi in really difficult and life-threatening situations when these drugs can save our lives.
