The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called on doctors and nurses to do more to recognize, prevent and treat sepsis in patients, stating that the blood infection is a serious medical emergency that can lead to immediate death if not addressed accordingly.
The federal health agency revealed on Tuesday, Aug. 23, that healthcare providers failed to identify sepsis early and prevent its spread in about 72 percent of the patients that they have already seen.
In its report, the CDC said patients who contract gut, skin and urinary tract infections are the ones commonly affected by sepsis. The potentially deadly infection can also occur in individuals who suffer from pneumonia.
Since symptoms of sepsis can vary greatly, it is often difficult for doctors to spot the infection early. There is also no specific test available to confirm whether a patient already has the illness.
However, the CDC pointed out that there are several ways for healthcare providers to act in order to properly address a potential infection, such as washing hands to prevent the spread of sepsis, vaccinating patients against pneumonia and increasing the public's awareness on the dangers of the blood infection.
"This report is putting a face on sepsis and documenting that it is still a huge problem, and it doesn't have to be," CDC Director Tom Frieden said.
"Far too many people die from sepsis today. Sepsis is an unrecognized killer [and] a medical emergency."
Identifying Potential Sepsis Infection
People who are already in their 60s and children below the age of 1 are the ones most likely to contract sepsis. Patients who have chronic medical conditions or weakened immune systems are also susceptible to the illness.
However, the CDC warned that even healthy individuals can also develop the blood infection if it is not treated early and accordingly. The number of sepsis-related deaths in the United States has so far varied widely.
In its report, the agency mentioned a study involving 246 adults and 79 children from four New York hospitals that have been diagnosed with sepsis between October 2012 and September 2013.
The researchers discovered that as many as 7 out of 10 patients with the infection suffered from at least one chronic illness, which required them to seek frequent care or to receive healthcare services in the past 30 days prior to the start of the study.
The study showed that nearly 80 percent of the patients screened developed sepsis prior to entering the hospital. About a quarter of these individuals died later on.
The researchers found that about 35 percent of the sepsis cases they studied were related to pneumonia, 25 percent of them were related to urinary tract infections, 11 percent were related to gastrointestinal infections and 11 percent were related to skin infections.
The blood infections were caused by various pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and other forms of the Streptococcus bacteria.
The CDC recommends that doctors conduct proper testing if a patient shows signs and symptoms of sepsis. They should also begin infection treatment immediately, which could involve the use of antibiotics within 24 to 48 hours after assessing the illness.
Photo: Alden Chadwick | Flickr
