Have an infection? Watch for signs of this

Have an infection? Watch for signs of this

If you have a urinary tract infection, pneumonia or other type of infection and suddenly begin to feel increasingly weak or seriously ill, or notice that your heart is racing, it could signal something more dangerous. It could be progressing to sepsis.

"Sepsis is an overwhelming infection that causes you to become weak, have low blood pressure and a rapid heart rate," said Craig Cornwall, MD, an emergency medicine physician at Cape Cod Hospital. "The two main infections that can lead to sepsis are urinary tract infections and pneumonia, which are the most common infections we see, especially in our senior population. Any complicated infection can cause sepsis."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that approximately 1.8 million people in the United States annually develop sepsis.

While urinary tract infections and pneumonia can cause sepsis, respiratory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, skin and soft tissue infections can also be sources of sepsis, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Some signs and symptoms are:

• Increasing weakness
• Rapid heart rate and weak pulse
• Fever
• Difficulty breathing
• Clammy or sweaty skin
• Confusion or disorientation

Diagnosis and Treatment

When a patient arrives in the emergency department with possible sepsis, Dr. Cornwall says there are many things to consider.

"We review the patient's list of complaints and symptoms, do lab tests and imaging to help find the source of the infection," he said. "We look for elevated white blood cell counts, (can indicate an infection) or elevated blood gases (shows if the body is getting enough oxygen), among other test results."

Imaging can include a chest X-ray to check for pneumonia, CT scan and or ultrasound of the chest, abdomen or pelvis to look for other sources of infection.

Treatment can include IV (intravenous) antibiotics, IV fluids and medications to raise your blood pressure.

Concern for Septic Shock

Another major concern for patients with sepsis is the risk of developing septic shock, a life-threatening condition in which the body's extreme response to infection can cause dangerously low blood pressure, a rapid heart rate, altered mental status and organ dysfunction, said Dr. Cornwall. It can affect any part of the body including the heart, brain, kidneys, liver and intestines.

Symptoms of septic shock include:

• Decreased mental status and confusion.
• High or very low temperature, chills.
• Lightheadedness.
• Little or no urine output.
• Low blood pressure.
• Palpitations.
• Rapid heart rate.
• Shortness of breath.
• Skin rash or discoloration.

Treatment requires more intense therapies like a breathing machine (mechanical ventilation), dialysis (to filter waste products from the kidneys) high volume IV fluids, and antibiotics or other medications to treat infections caused by a virus or fungus.

How to Prevent Sepsis and Septic Shock

"Our goal is to catch infections before they get complicated," said Dr. Cornwall. "If you start to notice your symptoms are getting worse, go to the emergency department. People who are immunocompromised or are older are at a higher risk for getting sepsis from what otherwise may have started out as a mild infection. The faster we treat you, assess you, give fluids and treat with antibiotics, the better you will do."