According to the report, "Nosocomial Bloodstream Infection and Clinical Sepsis," published in June 2010 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are an estimated 248,000 blood stream infections in American hospitals each year. This represents about 15 percent of all nosocomial infections, and about 1 percent of the patient population in hospitals. Blood stream infections increase the length of the patient's hospital stay and result in extra costs.
Primary Infections
Primary blood stream infections are laboratory-confirmed infections and are not a result of another infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many of these infections are due to the patient having a central vascular catheter. Central vascular catheters, also called central lines, are medical devices that are placed close to the patient's heart in one of the main blood vessels. Central lines are used for infusion, drawing blood and hemodynamic monitoring. However, central lines put patients at an increased risk for developing septic thrombophlebitis, endocarditis and other metastatic infections.
Clinical Sepsis
Sepsis occurs when the patient's immune system reacts to an infection by harming body tissue. Sepsis can infect the organs, which can result in a dangerous drop in the patient's blood pressure, called septic shock. Sepsis can be fatal, and those who are at high risk include the elderly, the very young, those with compromised immune systems and patients who have invasive medical devices. According to MayoClinic.com, symptoms for sepsis include fever of 101.3 F or below 95 F, heart rate higher than 90 beats per minute, respiratory rate higher than 20 breaths per minute, and probable or laboratory-confirmed infection. Patients must have at least two of those symptoms to be diagnosed with sepsis. To be diagnosed with severe sepsis, a patient must show signs of one of the following: molted skin on parts of the body, abrupt change in mental status, severe decrease in urine output, difficulty breathing, decrease in platelet count or abnormal heart function. When a patient is diagnosed with septic shock, she exhibits the symptoms of severe sepsis and a dramatic drop in blood pressure.
Treatment
According to MayoClinic.com, treatment for sepsis may include antibiotics, vasopressor medications to increase blood pressure, IV fluids, oxygen, kidney dialysis, support of a ventilator and/or surgery to remove the source of infection. The course of treatment is based on the individual and the degree of severity of the infection.
