Frontpage » Tag » sepsis

News tagged with sepsis

Stanford develops new tool for teaching doctors to treat sepsis

Jack was sinking fast, his vital signs registering alarming numbers. With every passing second, his doctor, Charles Prober, could see his patient being overwhelmed by sepsis, a deadly complication of infection ...

Medicine & Health / Other

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Children with burn injuries covering 60 percent or more are at higher risk of complications and death

New research published Online First by The Lancet shows that children with burn injuries are much more likely to suffer severe complications or die when the burns cover 60% or more of their total body surface area (TBSA) ...

Medicine & Health / Other

created Jan 30, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Newly identified type of immune cell may be important protector against sepsis

Investigators in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Systems Biology have discovered a previously unknown type of immune cell, a B cell that can produce the important growth factor GM-CSF, ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Late-stage sepsis suppresses immune system

(Medical Xpress) -- Patients who die from sepsis are likely to have had suppressed immune systems that left them unable to fight infections, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jan 11, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists identify cell death pathway involved in lethal sepsis

Sepsis, a form of systemic inflammation, is the leading cause of death in critically ill patients. Sepsis is linked with massive cell death; however, the specific mechanisms involved in the lethality of sepsis are unclear. ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 22, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Findings suggest that severe sepsis can lead to impairment of immune system

An analysis of lung and spleen tissue from patients who died of sepsis revealed certain biochemical, cellular and histological findings that were consistent with immunosuppression, according to a study in the December 21 ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 20, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Veterinarians find infections faster by monitoring blood compound

In pets and people, the time it takes to diagnose an infection may mean life or death. Now, a University of Missouri veterinarian is identifying ways to diagnose pet infections in approximately a third of ...

Biology / Other

created Dec 05, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Lying and sitting more comfortably

(PhysOrg.com) -- Anyone confined to a wheelchair or a bed has to deal with numerous complications. Frequently, they suffer from bedsores or decubitus ulcers as physicians call them. Bony prominences, such ...

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 02, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Probiotics appear to mitigate pancreatitis: Surprising hypothetical mechanism warrants further investigation

(Medical Xpress) -- A probiotic treatment appears to mitigate pancreatitis in an animal model, leading to a new hypothesis of how probiotics may act, according to a paper in the November Applied and Environmental Microbiology. ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 17, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

BUSM: Severe sepsis, new-onset AF associated with increased risk of hospital stroke, death

A recent study led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows an increased risk of stroke and mortality among patients diagnosed with severe sepsis and new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) during hospitalization.

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 13, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Trudeau Institute reports new approach to treating Listeria infections

Research underway at the Trudeau Institute could lead to new treatments for people sickened by Listeria and other sepsis-causing bacteria. Dr. Stephen Smiley's laboratory has published a study in the scientific journal Infection an ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 17, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists move closer to predicting who will and will not fight off severe infections

Why are some people prone to severe infections, while others handle them with less difficulty? A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal attempts to answer this question by shedding light on the genetic differ ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Oct 12, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Dietary supplements for patients after lung injury do not appear to improve outcomes; may be harmful

In contrast to findings of previous studies, patients who experienced an acute lung injury, such as from pneumonia or sepsis, and received dietary supplements including omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants had more days on ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Oct 05, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Costly treatment 'ineffective for babies'

(Medical Xpress) -- A worldwide study involving University of Sydney researchers has concluded that a costly and controversial treatment for neonatal sepsis is ineffective.

Medicine & Health / Health

created Sep 30, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Malaria prevention strategies could substantially cut killer bacterial infections, study suggests

Interventions targeting malaria, such as insecticide-treated bed nets, antimalarial drugs and mosquito control, could substantially reduce cases of bacteraemia, which kill hundreds of thousands of children each year in Africa ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Sep 07, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Sepsis

Sepsis is a serious medical condition characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state (called a systemic inflammatory response syndrome or SIRS) and the presence of a known or suspected infection. The body may develop this inflammatory response to microbes in the blood, urine, lungs, skin, or other tissues. An incorrect layman's term for sepsis is blood poisoning, more aptly applied to Septicemia, below.

Septicemia (also septicæmia [sep⋅ti⋅cæ⋅mi⋅a], or erroneously Septasemia and Septisema) is a related but deprecated (formerly sanctioned medical) term referring to the presence of pathogenic organisms in the blood-stream, leading to sepsis. The term has not been sharply defined. It has been inconsistently used in the past by medical professionals, for example as a synonym of bacteremia, causing some confusion. The present medical consensus is therefore that the term[which?] is problematic and should be avoided.

Sepsis is usually treated in the intensive care unit with intravenous fluids and antibiotics. If fluid replacement is insufficient to maintain blood pressure, specific vasopressor drugs can be used. Artificial ventilation and dialysis may be needed to support the function of the lungs and kidneys, respectively. To guide therapy, a central venous catheter and an arterial catheter may be placed. Sepsis patients require preventive measures for deep vein thrombosis, stress ulcers and pressure ulcers, unless other conditions prevent this. Some patients might benefit from tight control of blood sugar levels with insulin (targeting stress hyperglycemia), low-dose corticosteroids or activated drotrecogin alfa (recombinant protein C).

For more information about Sepsis, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.