Thursday, March 25, 2010

Question: "What is sepsis?"

Answer: Sepsis is basically a really bad type of infection.

More specifically, sepsis is an infection that causes whole body inflammation via the blood.
  • The infection is usually caused by bacteria.
  • Often the infection starts in a specific location such as the kidney, bowel or a heart valve and then spreads to the rest of the body via the blood.
  • However, sometimes a primary starting point of the infection is not identified and the major problem is a blood infection that then causes infection elsewhere.
  • Sepsis is a serious problem that needs to be treated with lots of IV medications in the hospital.
  • There is much more to this story. Let me know if you have a specific question.

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