Overview of Sepsis

Question 1

What is infection?

Answer 1

Inflammation due to a microbe

Question 2

What is bacteraemia?

Answer 2

Presence of viable bacteria in the blood

Question 3

What is sepsis?

Answer 3

A life threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection

Question 4

What is colonisation?

Answer 4

The presence of a microbe in the human body without an inflammatory response

Question 5

What is septic shock?

Answer 5

A subset of sepsis with circulatory and cellular / metabolic dysfunction associated with a higher risk of mortality

Sepsis with hypotension refractory to adequate volume resuscitation

Question 6

What are the criteria to diagnose septic shock?

Answer 6

Sepsis AND both of:
- Persistent hypotension requiring vasopressors to maintain MAP greater than or equal to 65 mmHg AND
- Lactate greater than or equal to 2mmol/L

(despite adequate volume resuscitation)

Question 7

What are the criteria for SIRS?

Answer 7

Question 8

What is sepsis in terms of SIRS?

Answer 8

SIRS with a presumed or confirmed infectious process

Question 9

What are the criteria for qSOFA?

Answer 9

Question 10

What are the SIRS criteria and what is a score that is remarkable?

Answer 10

Question 11

What physiological parameters are included in NEWS?

Answer 11

RR
Oxygen sats
Systolic BP
Pulse rate
Level of consciousness
Temperature

Question 12

In a patient with a NEWS score of 5 or more with a known infection, signs and symptoms of infection, or risk of infection, what should we think?

Answer 12

Could this be sepsis? - escalate care immediately (senior person involved, antibiotics ideally with 3 hours and tests within 3 hours)