Classification of sepsis

Blood poisoning is classified according to its severity into the following stages: In addition to being classified according to the severity of the blood poisoning, it can also be classified according to the type of pathogen, the location of the entry portal or the exit focus of the blood poisoning. – Blood poisoning (sepsis)

Severe blood poisoning (with organ dysfunction)
Septic shock

Septic shock is a complication of sepsis. Sepsis is commonly called blood poisoning, so septic shock means a shock resulting from blood poisoning.

Shock means that the body is so weakened by the invading pathogens that it can no longer maintain its functions adequately. There is a massive drop in blood pressure, usually at the same time the pulse (heart rate) is significantly increased to compensate for the low blood pressure. Septic shock is an acutely life-threatening situation and must be treated in an intensive care unit.

In most cases, the patient is artificially ventilated and treated with medication to raise the much too low blood pressure again. An antibiotic treatment is also administered. This is used to treat the infection that was originally the trigger for the development of blood poisoning. Septic shock is a serious complication, and in many cases sufficient treatment is no longer possible, resulting in death in over half of the cases.

Entry ports

In order to enter the body or bloodstream, the pathogens have various options at their disposal: After the pathogens have overcome the local defence of the entry portal, they enter the bloodstream. – Skin wounds, surgical wounds, burns

Gastrointestinal tract including bile ducts
Ear, nose and throat area
Genitalia
Urinary conduction system

The cause of blood poisoning is always an infection. There are many different types of infection.

Among the infections that most often lead to sepsis are pneumonia and urinary tract infections. But wound infections are also often the cause of blood poisoning. A wound infection can occur when an existing wound becomes infected.

This happens when pathogens (usually bacteria) penetrate the wound. As the infection progresses, the pathogens also enter the bloodstream, which is known as blood poisoning. It is rare, but theoretically possible, for blood poisoning to develop from an insect bite.

This can happen because bacterial pathogens enter the body through the small lesion caused by the bite and enter the bloodstream. If blood poisoning results from an insect bite, antibiotic treatment is required. During operations, pathogens can enter the body through the area to be operated on. Although this is tried to be avoided by working in a sterile environment, it cannot be prevented completely. Therefore, there are numerous cases every year in which blood poisoning develops after an operation.

Septicemia virus

The most common pathogens of blood poisoning are bacteria. From the multiplicity of the different pathogens, the most frequent ones are mentioned here: Almost every pathogen can cause sepsis. This depends among other things on the immune system of the person affected.

Less frequent are blood poisonings caused by fungi. However, they play an important role in patients whose immune system is lowered. This is the case with infections such as AIDS or as a therapy in transplantations (e.g. of the bone marrow). Hospital germs can also cause blood poisoning. – Staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus)

Streptococci
E. coli
Enterobacter spp
Pseudomonas aeruginosa