Every Second Counts in Sepsis

Although Sepsis represents 20% of all global deaths, a recent survey revealed that 81% of Americans don’t know its symptoms. As September is Sepsis Awareness Month, let’s use this month to spread information and learn more about this life-threatening condition.

What is Sepsis?

Sepsis is the?extreme response of the body’s immune system to an infection, which?can damage vital organs, and may cause death. Any infection, bacterial, viral, or fungal, can lead to Sepsis.

In severe cases, Sepsis may progress into Septic Shock, which is a dramatic drop in blood pressure that can damage the lungs, kidneys, liver, and other organs. Progression to Septic Shock raises the risk of death. Most people recover if they suffer from mild Sepsis, however, the mortality rate for septic shock is about 30% to 40%, in a short time of?as little as 12 hours.

Sepsis is one of the most frequent causes of death worldwide. In 2020, there were about 50 million cases and 11 million Sepsis-related deaths worldwide, representing 20% of all global deaths. About half of these reported cases are comprised of children under 5 years of age. Although it can affect every individual, Sepsis incidence and mortality are higher among people from lower and middle-income countries.

Diagnosis of Sepsis

The most important concern in Sepsis is a quick diagnosis and prompt treatment. In the?clinical course and treatment of Sepsis, antibiotic resistance is the leading obstacle where patients infected with resistant pathogens have a higher risk of hospital mortality. Antibiotic resistance is a major factor determining clinical unresponsiveness to treatment and rapid evolution to Sepsis and Septic Shock.??Therefore, quick and accurate in-vitro diagnosis solutions like Real-Time PCR Kits detecting Sepsis pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes at the same time provide an?important advantage in this time-sensitive infection and treatment course of patients.