ABC Medical Center > Diseases > Septicemia

What is septicemia?

4 May 2021

It is a serious condition with a high mortality rate. It appears when the body reacts against a severe infection affecting tissues and organs, so it can cause septic shock, in which blood pressure drops to high-risk levels, producing general organ failure whose outcome is death.

Despite being a pathology with a reserved prognosis, there are chances of survival if septicemia, or sepsis, is treated promptly with various antibiotics and saline solution.

Although septicemia occurs more frequently in hospitalized patients, it can affect anyone and occur with all kinds of bacterial, viral, or fungal infections, although the most frequent are:

  • Catheter infections.
  • Infected wounds or burns.
  • Pneumonia.
  • Urinary and renal tracts.
  • Gastrointestinal.
  • Bacteremia (infection in the blood).

Signs and symptoms Septicemia

Septicemia symptoms, in addition to infection, include:

  • Mental confusion.
  • Significant decrease in blood pressure.
  • Difficulty breathing and fast breathing rate.

Septic shock symptoms are:

  • Systolic blood pressure drops further, requiring drugs to raise it.
  • Large amounts of lactic acid in the blood, which implies that there is no proper oxygenation in the body.

Potential risks:

  • Long-term stay in intensive care or hospitalized.
  • Having a catheter for a long time.
  • Being a child or older adult.
  • Have a depressed immune system.
  • Having diabetes.
  • Kidney or liver failure.

Diagnosis and treatment Septicemia

Diagnosis is directed to the detection of the infectious origin that is causing the symptoms, using blood and urine tests. Also, if there are difficulties in identifying the primary infection, your doctor may order imaging studies such as MRI, X-rays, ultrasound, and CT scans.

Timely and intensive treatment is recommended to increase the chances of recovery:

  • Antibiotics: broad-spectrum drug combinations are used to try to attack the infection as hard as possible.
  • Vasopressors: these drugs are administered when blood pressure has not reached the required level. They contract blood vessels causing blood pressure to increase.
  • Saline solution.
  • Corticosteroids.
  • Painkillers.

In cases where abscesses or gangrenous tissues have formed, a surgical procedure will be necessary to remove them and prevent the infection from spreading.

At ABC Medical Center’s Internal Medicine Department, we offer health care services with the highest quality and safety, from the prevention, diagnosis, timely treatment, and monitoring of infectious, respiratory, endocrinological, dermatological, rheumatic, nephrological, gastrointestinal, and hematological pathologies of both chronic-degenerative diseases and acute conditions, through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary model.

Related centers and departments Septicemia

Fuentes: 

  • bbc.com
  • mayoclinic.org
  • medlineplus.gov
  • msdmanuals.com
  • cdc.gov
  • medigraphic.com
  • Aguilar AMF, López AVG, Escalante CA, et al. Eficacia del azul de metileno como coadyuvante en el tratamiento de pacientes con choque séptico. Med Crit. 2016;30(2):102-110.
  • Baizabal-Ramírez O, Negrete-Pérez M, Guerrero-Daza D, et al. Choque séptico por Vibrio vulnificus en las costas del Golfo de México. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2011;49(4):433-436.
  • Islas DLP, Cardiel ML, Sánchez MÓ. Septicemia neonatal temprana. ¿Cuándo iniciar antibióticos?. Rev Mex Pediatr. 2012;79(1):12-17.
  • Membreño MJP. Fisiopatología de la septicemia: un enfoque molecular. Med Int Mex. 2008;24(4):304-312.

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