How to Diagnose Sepsis

Sepsis is a severe infection of the bloodstream by a toxin-producing bacteria. The infection can originate from anywhere in the body, but common sites include the intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs and skin. Hospital patients may become infected through bed sores, IV lines and surgical drains. Other people at particular risk for sepsis include those with meningitis and bone infections. The following steps will show how to diagnose a case of sepsis.

Instructions

1. Recognize the general symptoms of sepsis. These include confusion and delirium, shaking chills, decreased urine output, fever, hyperventilation and rapid heart beat.

2. Look for more severe symptoms as the sepsis progresses. The blood pressure drops, the patient goes into shock and major organ systems fail. Sepsis has a mortality rate of up to 60 percent in patients with underlying illnesses and also can significantly threaten otherwise healthy people.

3. Find laboratory results indicative of sepsis. The white blood cell count should be out of the normal range with a low platelet count, blood gases should show acidosis and kidney functioning may be abnormal early in the disease.

4. Observe additional findings to support a diagnosis of sepsis. A peripheral smear may show the destruction of red blood cells and a blood differential may show immature white blood cells. Fibrin degradation products may be elevated.

5. Confirm a diagnosis of sepsis by identifying bacteria in a culture grown from a blood smear. This may not be possible if the patient is already on antibiotics.