2023-09-13 13:04:01
On today’s World Sepsis Day, experts are calling for better information about the disease. Here are the most important questions and answers:
What is Sepsis? The disease arises as a life-threatening complication when the immune system reacts excessively to an infection. Causes can include injuries, urinary tract infections, pneumonia or flu – caused by bacteria, viruses and fungi that spread quickly throughout the body.
How dangerous is that? This defensive reaction can lead to septic shock with (multi-)organ failure and can be fatal without early medical treatment. “Sepsis can also have serious and long-lasting health consequences for the affected patients,” says Eva Schaden from Meduni Vienna.
What are the symptoms? In the early stages: Fever combined with severe shivering or low temperature (hypothermia). Also rapid breathing, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, redness, swelling, nausea, vomiting, confusion, disorientation.
Who is particularly at risk? Elderly, people with multiple illnesses, infants, young children. But it can also affect young, healthy people.
How is early detection achieved? When patients are sick, the question should be asked, especially by health care workers: “Could it be sepsis?” The earlier the disease is recognized and treated, the greater the chance of survival. “Confusion, a feeling of severe illness, rapid breathing, rapid pulse, low blood pressure and no or very little urine production in connection with a possible infection are considered alarm signals,” says Schaden.
How common is sepsis? In Europe, around two million people become ill every year – 28,000 of them in Austria. The disease is fatal for around 7,500 people across Austria.
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