In 2016, Tiffany was a new nursing graduate living in Florida. She had gone out to dinner with friends to celebrate passing her boards and began to feel ill around midnight. Having been sick with sepsis multiple times as a child, Tiffany immediately recognized her chills and fever of 99.1 as a sign to get to the Emergency Room.
She promptly explained her sepsis history to the Emergency Room provider and begged for blood cultures to be drawn and antibiotics to be administered. The ER provider was convinced she had influenza and sent her home without antibiotics.
Within eight hours, Tiffany’s blood culture came back positive. However, the faxed result from the external lab got lost. Meanwhile, Tiffany was getting sicker, sleeping for the next 24 hours. When she woke up feeling – and looking – worse, her husband immediately took her back to the Emergency Room.
The triage nurse knew something was wrong and roomed her quickly. She had a temperature of 102.7, her pulse was high, and her blood pressure was dropping. Tiffany’s feet hurt and were ice cold. Lidocaine patches were placed to help with the pain. When labs came back showing her platelets were low and her kidneys were shutting down, Tiffany was admitted to ICU with concerns for disseminated idiopathic coagulation (DIC), a condition that causes blood clots to form and can lead to massive bleeding.
As doctors in the ICU were scrambling to figure out where her infections were coming from, Tiffany received a call from the ER provider that her blood cultures results were positive. She should return to the hospital immediately. Luckily, she was already there.
Over the next couple of days, her leg continued to be painful. Her toes slowly blackened and when the staff could no longer find her dorsal pulse, they transferred her to a higher level of care hospital. Unfortunately, it was too late to save her leg and it was amputated. The infection in her blood was very responsive to penicillin. Had the antibiotic been started earlier, she may not have needed the amputation.
Today, Tiffany works as a registered nurse at Gundersen Radiology Oncology clinic. She moved to Wisconsin in May 2016, receiving her prosthetic leg just a few months later. A daredevil by nature, she enjoys climbing and scaling the multiple local hillsides. Tiffany has been septic one other time since 2016. Luckily, it was caught early and she quickly recovered. But, the fear remains that the next time someone may not listen.
What is sepsis?
Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection. It is a life-threatening medical emergency. Sepsis happens when an infection you already have triggers a chain reaction throughout your body. Infections that lead to sepsis most often start in the lung, urinary tract, skin, or gastrointestinal tract. Without timely treatment, sepsis can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.
Is sepsis contagious?
You can’t spread sepsis to other people. However, an infection can lead to sepsis, and you can spread some infections to other people.
What causes sepsis?
Infections put you and your family at risk for sepsis. When germs get into a person’s body, they can cause an infection. If you don’t stop that infection, it can cause sepsis. Bacterial infections cause most cases of sepsis. Sepsis can also be a result of other infections, including viral infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza, or fungal infections.
Who is at risk?
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Adults 65+ years old
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People with weakened immune systems
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People with chronic health conditions like diabetes, lung or kidney disease, or cancer
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People with recent hospitalizations or severe illness
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People who have survived sepsis
How can you prevent sepsis?
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Prevent infections. Talk to your doctor or nurse about steps to prevent infections.
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Practice good hygiene. Remember to wash your hands and keep cuts clean and covered until healed.
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Know the symptoms. Symptoms of sepsis can include any combination of these:
- S – Shivering or fevers
- E – Extreme pain
- P – Pale, clammy skin
- S – Sleepy, disoriented, confused
- I - “I feel like I might die.”
- S – Suddenly short of breath
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Act fast. Get medical care IMMEDIATELY if you suspect sepsis or have an infection that is not getting better or is worsening.