Sepsis: Deadly infection is a "race against time"

Five years ago, Dana Mirman noticed a small bump on her
shoulder that she thought was an insect bite. Within 24 hours, her shoulder
became extremely swollen, she was experiencing flu-like symptoms, and had a fever
of 104 degrees.

Her husband brought her to the emergency room, where Mirman
was quickly identified as a patient in septic shock. The bump on her shoulder
turned out to be an infection, which had become cellulitis (a bacterial infection of the skin and soft tissue) and then sepsis when the infection got into her bloodstream. Having been perfectly healthy up until this point, she was shocked to learn her
diagnosis.

“The thought that it could be sepsis never even crossed my
mind,” Mirman told CBS News. “I had heard of it before but I had always thought
of it as a rare disease that wasn’t something that I had any context for.”

Mirman’s blood pressure was extremely low and she was
immediately treated with IV fluids and antibiotics. After several days in the
ICU, her blood pressure stabilized and she was transferred to a regular
hospital room for another course of antibiotics before she was well enough to go home.

She describes the experience as “extremely scary.” “I was
aware at different points that if I didn’t respond to treatments, I could die,”
she said.

Now, Mirman is sharing her story to raise awareness about sepsis in the hope that others may pick up on signs in themselves or family members so
they can get treatment as quickly as possible.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
between 1 and 3 million people in the United States are diagnosed with sepsis
each year, and between 15 and 30 percent of those patients die.

“Sepsis is the body’s over-reactive response to an
infection,” Dr. Anthony Fiore, chief of the Epidemiological Research
Innovations Branch at the CDC, told CBS News. “It can be so deadly because it
can lead to organ failure and death because of lack of blood flow and
inflammation associated with it.”

Who gets sepsis?

A CDC report released today aims to identify the types of
people most likely to get sepsis.

The report showed that that for nearly 80 percent of
patients, sepsis begins outside of the hospital. But it also found that 7 in 10
patients with sepsis had recently used health care services or had chronic
diseases requiring frequent medical care.

There is no specific diagnostic test for sepsis, but clinicians
diagnose it based on a combination of symptoms and biomarkers found in lab
tests. Getting to a hospital early is paramount, because the longer a patient goes
without treatment, the more likely it is that the infection will turn fatal.

People can help identify sepsis in themselves or in loved
ones and immediately seek medical attention if they notice these symptoms after
developing an infection:

·     
Shivering, fever, or very cold

·     
Extreme pain or discomfort

·     
Clammy or sweaty skin

·     
Confusion or disorientation

·     
Shortness of breath

·     
High heart rate

In a press briefing, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, whose own
son survived sepsis more than two decades ago, emphasized that sepsis is a
“medical emergency.”

“Helping patients to know to ask ‘could this be sepsis?’
empowers them to potentially save their own or family members’ lives,” he said.
“Recognition and treatment against sepsis is a race against time.”

The most common infections that can lead to sepsis include
lung infections, such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, gut infection, and
skin infection.

Fiore said that people who are more susceptible to these
types of infections – including those 65 or older, babies younger than a
year, people with a weakened immune system, and those with chronic health
conditions like diabetes – should take steps to prevent infections, which will also
help protect them against sepsis.

For example, people can help prevent lung infections by getting
the flu and pneumococcal vaccines.

Those living with diabetes, Fiore points out, are more prone
to getting skin infections and should be extra vigilant in cleaning wounds and
watching for signs of sepsis.

Common germs that can cause sepsis include Staphylococcus
aureus, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and some types of Streptococcus, so people
who have these infections should also be aware of the signs of sepsis.

Finally, since even healthy people can get sepsis, merely
practicing good hygiene, such as frequent hand washing and bathing regularly, can
go a long way in preventing the condition.

Lasting effects

While many people recover from sepsis and return to their
normal lives, others experience long-term complications. For example, in a
person who already had kidney problems?, sepsis can lead to kidney failure that
requires lifelong dialysis.

Mirman experienced severe swelling for several weeks after
the initial infection, and symptoms like fatigue, headache, and dizziness for
months after.

What’s more, the psychological impact of the infection took
a major toll.

“When I came home and I did not feel all the way better, it
was so scary because I couldn’t understand – how do I know that I’m really OK? It took so long to have that confidence in my health again, especially
when you’re experiencing fatigue and migraines and these conditions that I
hadn’t had before,” she said.

Now, Mirman hopes her story will help others learn the signs
of sepsis and act quickly if they think they or a loved one is showing signs.

“I was very fortunate because
the hospital recognized sepsis and treated me immediately and not everyone gets
that outcome,” she said. “But that being said, I was in septic shock and had I
thought that swelling on my skin on my arm combined with sudden onset of severe
flu-like symptoms could have been sepsis, I could have presented [to the
hospital] even sooner and have gotten treatment sooner and have saved myself
the ICU or maybe even being admitted.”