World Sepsis Day

world sepsis day | Medical Supply Company

Today we mark World Sepsis Day. Sepsis arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. Antimicrobial resistance is a major factor determining clinical unresponsiveness to treatment and rapid evolution to sepsis and septic shock. Sepsis patients with resistant pathogens have been found to have a higher risk of hospital mortality. Sepsis may lead to shock, multi-organ failure, and death – especially if not recognised early and treated promptly.

Sepsis – global health crisis

Sepsis is a medical emergency. The earlier you seek treatment, the greater your chances of survival. However, because sepsis is a condition with multiple causative organisms & an evolving nature over time, patients can present various signs and symptoms at different times.

Signs and Symptoms

Suspecting sepsis is the first major step towards early recognition and diagnosis. Warning signs and symptoms include:

  • Fever or low temperature
  • Shivering
  • Altered mental status
  • Difficulty breathing/rapid breathing
  • Increased heart rate
  • Weak pulse/low blood pressure
  • Low urine output
  • Cyanotic or mottled skin
  • Cold extremities, and extreme body pain or discomfort

Anyone can develop sepsis, but some are more vulnerable than others such as elderly people, pregnant women, neonates, hospitalised patients, and people with HIV/AIDS, liver cirrhosis, cancer, kidney disease, autoimmune diseases or no spleen.

Diagnosis

Identifying and not underestimating the signs and symptoms listed above, along with diagnostics to help identify a causal pathogen of infection leading to sepsis, are crucial to guide targeted antimicrobial treatment. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can jeopardise clinical management of sepsis because empirical antibiotic treatment is often required.

As we celebrate World Sepsis Day 2019 we are delighted to have brought to the Irish market the Accelerate Pheno™ system with results for optimal therapy ~40 hours faster. The Accelerate Pheno™ system provides fully automated antibiotic susceptibility (AST) results with MICs direct from positive blood cultures. Less workflow, less patient wait and shorter hospital stay.

Antibiotic selection, dosage, infusion strategy –
A lot rides on the one result that drives definitive therapy decisions for patients with serious infections. The sooner you hand MIC results to get to caregivers, the more they can do to improve outcomes. So go ahead, break limits. Report MIC results with interpretation faster with the Accelerate Pheno™ system.

Reference: WHO

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