Sepsis Seminar (M1)

Question 1

LO’s

Answer 1

• Define the following terms: bacteraemia, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis and septic shock.
• List the causes of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).
• Describe how sepsis can cause organ failure.

Question 2

What is bacteraemia?

Answer 2

• The presence of bacteria in the blood.

Question 3

What is systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)?

Answer 3

• An inflammatory state affecting the whole body.
• SIRS is not always related to infection.

Question 4

What is septic shock?

Answer 4

• Sepsis and persistant hypotension.
• This means there is hypoperfusion, so anaerobic respiration. Lactate produced.
• Septic shock occurs when sepsis/damage in response to infection.
• It leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism.

Question 5

List the causes of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)?

Answer 5

Anything that floods your body with cytokines.

1. SIRS ican be caused by infection (but is called sepsis) so infections like pneumonia, wound infections, UTIs and meningitis can cause SIRS.
2. Burns: initiate an inflammatory response.
3. Surgery: may lead to infection and inflammation.
4. Auto-immune disorders: inflammation.
5. Trauma: inflammation due to injury.
6. Pancreatitis: inflammation of pancreas.
7. Ischaemia (build up of lactates, designed to cause inflammation.)
8. Hemorrhage: get inflammation.
9. Anaphylaxis

Question 6

Describe how sepsis can cause organ failure?

Answer 6

• Sepsis develops when the chemicals the immune system releases into the bloodstream to fight an infection cause inflammation throughout the entire body instead.
• The endothelial lining of blood vessels get damaged. Loads of little pulmonary embolisms (blood vessel blockage). Get hypoxia.
• These clots block the flow of blood and oxygen to vital organs and other parts of your body. This increases the risk of organ failure and tissue death (gangrene).

Question 7

Define infection?

Answer 7

• An inflammation caused by micro-organisms.

Question 8

What is a syndrome?

Answer 8

A group of symptoms which consistently occur together, and point towards a certain disease.

Question 9

Define Sepsis?

Answer 9

• Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome due to infection.
• Dysregulated host response to infection.

Question 10

Why does respiratory rate go above 20 in SIRS?

Answer 10

• Breathe off metabolites like carbon dioxide.
• Organs screaming for oxygen.

Question 11

Why does glucose increase in SIRS?

Answer 11

• Get insulin resistance due to cytokines produced in inflammation.

Question 12

How is sepsis treated?

Answer 12

Put 3 things in:

• Antibiotics
• Oxygen: 94+%
• Fluids

3 things out:

• Cultures
• Urine (assesses organ failure)
• Lactate