Sepsis

How it is used

A major cause of deterioration on wards. Nurses screen for sepsis when a patient with a possible infection has abnormal observations, such as a high or low temperature, fast breathing, a fast pulse, low blood pressure or new confusion. Hospitals use sepsis pathways so that treatment starts quickly. The adjective is 'septic'.

Example sentences

1. With a temperature of 39, a pulse of 125 and a low blood pressure, I'm worried about sepsis.

2. She was started on the sepsis pathway within an hour of arriving on the ward.

Common collocations

• suspected sepsis
• sepsis screening
• sepsis pathway
• signs of sepsis
• red flag sepsis

Related terms

• early warning scoreA score calculated from a patient's vital signs and level of consciousness that helps staff notice early that a patient is becoming seriously ill.
• deteriorateTo become worse, especially when a patient's condition or vital signs change in a way that shows they are becoming more unwell.
• temperatureHow hot a patient's body is, measured with a thermometer in the ear, mouth, armpit, forehead or rectum. In everyday speech it can also simply mean a fever.
• tachycardiaA heart rate that is faster than normal; in adults at rest, usually more than 100 beats per minute.
• hypotensionBlood pressure that is lower than normal. In adults it is often defined as below about 90/60 mmHg, but the change from the patient's usual reading also matters.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• sepsis · Medicine

More terms: Emergencies and the Deteriorating Patient

• CPR
• unresponsive
• escalate
• DNR
• code blue