Symptoms And Treatment Of Sepsis

The early intravenous fluid administration for resuscitation of the critically ill hypovolemic patient is the corner stone of shock therapy (Kruemer & Ensor 2012). The Surviving Sepsis recommends early optimization in the first six hours, followed with fluid challenges in the case of persistent hypo

Management of the acutely ill adult is a complex and perplexed procedure. It requires underpinning knowledge of the pathophysiology of the disease currently affecting the patient, as well as ensuring that professionals are equipped to deal with the development of a rapid deterioration. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (2007) explain that patients are sometimes inadequately treated due to staff not acting in a sufficient time manner, and so a systematic assessment of the patient recommended by the Resuscitation Council (2006) should initially be followed (Jevon, 2009).

The aim of this assignment is to critically discuss the nursing assessment individualised care and nursing interventions of the acutely ill patient. The patient discussed developed severe sepsis due to a urinary tract infection and her condition deteriorated during the recovery process in the nurse’s care. Lovick (2009) defines sepsis ‘as a known or suspected infection accompanied by evidence of two or more of the SIRS criteria’. SIRS is outlined as a ‘systemic inflammatory response’ consisting of two or more of the following symptoms ‘temperature >38 degrees Celsius or 90 beats per minute, respiratory rates greater than 20 breaths per minute and white blood count higher than 12,000 cells per microliter or lower than 4000 cells per

Is sepsis complicated by organ dysfunction, is diagnosed in more than 750,000 patients per year and has mortality rates as high as 28%-50%.

The number of documented cases has been rising every year. “This may be due to the aging population, the increased longevity of people with chronic disease, the spread of antibiotic-resistant organisms, an upsurge in invasive procedures and broader use of immunosuppressive and chemotherapeutic agents” (National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 2014). The mortality rate for sepsis ranges from about thirty percent for patients with sepsis to fifty percent in patients who develop septic shock. Mortality rate varies as to how many organs have been affected. Twenty percent mortality for one organ failure, forty percent for two organs failing, sixty-five to seventy percent for three failed organs, and seventy-five to eighty-five percent when four or more organs have failed. The cost related to sepsis is about seventeen billion dollars per year (about twenty-two thousand dollars per patient), which is six times greater than the cost of patients without sepsis.

Recognition of Sepsis in the ED. It is well known within health care professionals as well as the general public that, in the first hours of a myocardial infarction or cerebral vascular accident, time is tissue. This is also the case in severe sepsis and because of this, early recognition of sepsis is vital to improving outcomes. SIRS is the first line diagnostic for the recognition of sepsis. If the patient meets SIRS criteria, the next line of diagnostics is to test the serum lactate. Lactate is believed to be due to decreased end-organ perfusion, leading to anaerobic glycolysis and lactate production. Serum lactate is commonly used as a prognostic test for illness severity in ED patients with sepsis (Green et al., 2011).

My main priority would be to dehydrate the patient with a normal saline IV, then administer drugs for her pain, the dilaudid that the physician ordered for her. Then I would administer 5 ml’s of Vancomycin to treat the C. Diff.

Diagnosis of sepsis is based primarily on a history of infection, history of chronic illness or trauma, physical exam, lab tests For signs of systemic infection.

Under the Core measures, Sepsis is one of the problem-focused trigger for systemic infection and if untreated which can lead to death. In United States, it is the 11th leading cause of death and consumes the large amount of costs about $20.3 billion in 2011 (Jones et al.,2016). According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1.5 million people diagnosed with sepsis, and at least 250,000 patients die from that yearly (CDC, 2017). The evidence-based research revealed with results of certain pre existing conditions, pathophysiological studies, preventive measures and sepsis bundle for treating and preventing sepsis to save the life of the patients.

A diagnosis of sepsis includes a suspected or confirmed infection that is usually accompanied by a body temperature above 101 F (38.3 C) or below 96.8 F (36 C), a heart rate higher than 90 beats a minute and/or a respiratory rate above 20 breaths per minute.

Sepsis is a severe complication of an inflammatory response due to various pathogens with the mortality rates ranging anywhere between twenty-five to thirty percent (Epstein, Dantes, Magill, & Fiore, 2016). Sepsis can be precipitated by various infections including some of the most common ones, like urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and cellulitis. An early sepsis recognition is crucial in improving patient outcomes and decreasing mortality rate. Thus, it is very important for a health care provider to start the necessary diagnostics and implementation of fluids, antibiotics, vasopressors and other necessary treatments based on the

et al., 2008). Sepsis is a frequent cause of admission to intensive care units (ICUs) and it

A methodical search was undertaken of the databases – PubMed, CINAHL and ScienceDirect to ascertain the most appropriate evidence. Search terms used were “Sepsis Prevention”, “Sepsis Management” “Sepsis Early Recognition” and “Sepsis Detection” and merged using Boolean Logic (Glasper and Rees,

Intravenous (IV) fluids were bolusing; however, when blood pressure was only obtainable manually and revealed that her blood pressure was 74/34, the decision was made to send the patient to the intensive care unit (ICU). There, coagulation studies revealed an elevated PT, PTT, D-dimer, and a decreased fibrinogen count. She received a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), a transfusion of two units of packed red blood cells (PRBCs), as well as cryoprecipitate therapy during her treatment in the ICU.

Sepsis is a debilitating, potentially life threatening condition that has become a big burden on the health system worldwide. Early recognition and aggressive timely treatment have proven to be life saving interventions. South Miami Hospital (SMH) aims to provide safe care to our community by implementing and utilizing evidence –based guidelines and protocols. According to research, early identification of patients presenting with signs and symptoms of sepsis is crucial to patients’ survival. In order to achieve this goal SMH Emergency Department (ED) implemented a triage sepsis-screening tool, an intervention that as evidenced by research helps to recognize patients at risk for developing sepsis or presenting with this devastating disease.