Sepsis

Organ dysfunction resulting from a dysregulated systemic host response to infection separates sepsis from uncomplicated infection. The etiology is mainly bacterial and pneumonia is the most common known source. Patients commonly present with fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, hypotension, and/or altered mentation. Septic shock is diagnosed during treatment when vasopressors are necessary to control hypotension. Sepsis and septic shock are medical emergencies, and antibiotics are given within an hour of diagnosis.

An infection is the proliferation of microorganisms within tissues, body cavities, or spaces, which induces an immune response and overwhelms the body’s natural defenses. In surgical patients, these infections are frequently caused by the translocation of commensal organisms into deeper tissues, combined with the impairment of host defenses due to surgical injury or stress. Infections commonly identified in patients after surgery include surgical site infections, catheter-associated infections, and ventilator-associated infections. Infection subtypes can be prevented, diagnosed, or treated using several strategies. The mainstays of treatment in surgical patients involve local control of the infection as well as targeted antibiotic therapy.

Organ dysfunction resulting from a dysregulated systemic host response to infection separates sepsis from uncomplicated infection. The etiology is mainly bacterial and pneumonia is the most common known source. Patients commonly present with fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, hypotension, and/or altered mentation. Septic shock is diagnosed during treatment when vasopressors are necessary to control hypotension. Sepsis and septic shock are medical emergencies and antibiotics are given within an hour of diagnosis.