Caring for Patients with Sepsis

Key points

• Sepsis is a medical emergency. You play a critical role. Protect your patients by acting fast.
• You should immediately evaluate and treat patients who might have sepsis.
• With your fast recognition and treatment, most patients survive.

Diagnosis

Healthcare providers should immediately evaluate and treat people who might have sepsis.

Presentation

Common physical presentation:

• Fever
• Increased heart rate
• Low blood pressure

Testing

Healthcare providers perform tests that check for signs of infection or organ damage.

Some of these tests are used to identify the germ that caused the infection that led to sepsis. This testing might include:

• Blood cultures looking for bacterial infections or fungal infections.
• Tests for viral infections, like influenza.

Treatment if you suspect sepsis

• Follow your facility's policies and procedures for diagnosing and managing sepsis.
• Immediately alert the healthcare providers overseeing care of the patient if it is not you.
• Start antibiotics as soon as possible in addition to other therapies appropriate for the patient. If a specific bacterial cause of sepsis is known, therapy should be targeted to optimize treatment, and broad-spectrum antibiotics might not be needed.
• Check patient progress frequently. Treatment requires urgent medical care, usually in an intensive care unit in a hospital, and includes careful monitoring of vital signs and often antibiotics. Early and frequent reassessment of patients with sepsis should be undertaken to determine the appropriate duration and type of therapy.

Use sepsis clinical tools

Hospital Toolkit for Adult Sepsis Surveillance

A resource for the hospital toolkit for adult sepsis surveillance

Download

Download

Hospital Sepsis Program Assessment Tool Webinar

Webinar with instructions on how to use the Assessment Tool.

Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements

Monitor and optimize hospital management and outcomes of sepsis.

From Alert to Action: Revolutionizing Sepsis Management with Ochsner’s Solutions and CDC’s Sepsis Core Elements

See how Ochsner’s Solutions implemented the Sepsis Core Elements.

Download

Download

Diagnose and treat sepsis promptly

Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines

International clinical guidelines for managing sepsis and septic shock in pediatrics and adults.

Detect, Act, Reassess, Titrate (DART) Tool

Guide for emergency department healthcare providers to identify and manage sepsis.

Improving Pediatric Sepsis Outcomes Change Package

Evidence-based recommendations for improving pediatric sepsis outcomes.

Neonatal Early-Onset Sepsis Calculator

Calculator to assess the risk of early-onset sepsis in infants born > 34 weeks gestation.

View sepsis trainings

Sepsis Alliance Institute

Free sepsis education and resources for healthcare providers, survivors, caregivers and loved ones.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) First Response Video

Award-winning training video for EMS personnel.

Pediatric First Response Video

Training video focused on pediatric sepsis response for EMS personnel.

Share sepsis materials

Get Ahead of Sepsis Materials for Patients

Download or order materials to educate yourself and your loved ones about sepsis.

Get Ahead of Sepsis Materials for Healthcare Providers

Download or order materials to educate yourself and your colleagues about sepsis.

About Get Ahead of Sepsis

CDC is educating patients and healthcare providers about sepsis.

Have conversations with patients about actions they can take

• Prevent infections.During periods of high respiratory virus activity, consider wearing a mask when around people outside your household.
• Get recommended vaccines.
• Take good care of chronic conditions
• Practice good hygiene.Keep cuts and wounds clean and covered until healed.
• Keep hands clean.
• Know the signs and symptoms of sepsis.
• Act fast. Sepsis is a medical emergency

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