What Are the Stages of Sepsis?

Muhammad Ramadan | October 15, 2024 | Medical Malpractice

More than 1.7 million adults are diagnosed with sepsis in the United States each year. It’s a life-threatening condition, taking the life of one out of every three hospitalized individuals. Despite causing more than 350,000 deaths every year, many aspects of sepsis remain a mystery to the medical community. But what seems to be clear is that it progresses in three stages. Our experienced personal injury lawyer will explain the stages of sepsis:

What Is Sepsis?

First and foremost, sepsis can be defined as the body’s overreaction to an infection, usually bacterial. In “Unraveling a medical mystery,” published by Harvard Public Health magazine, sepsis is described as the immune system “freaking out” to battle an infection. 

The infection triggers an inflammatory response that extends throughout the body, including the skin, organs, and circulatory system. If it’s not caught early, sepsis may lead to blood clots, tissue damage, organ failure, and, if untreated, death.

What Infections Can Cause Sepsis?

There’s not one single bacteria that causes sepsis. Instead, it can be one of many that develop in almost any area of the body, be it the central nervous system, gastrointestinal system, respiratory system, urinary tract, or skin (e.g., after a burn). 

Nevertheless, some common causes of sepsis include staph, E. coli, and streptococcus, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Additionally, although sepsis is typically caused by bacterial infections, a viral infection may also trigger a similar immune response. 

In fact, a study published in 2023 by JAMA Network revealed that COVID-19-associated sepsis was present in 1.5% of all admissions and 28.2% of COVID-positive hospitalizations. The study encompassed 431,017 inpatient encounters at five Massachusetts hospitals between 2020 and 2022.

Who’s Most At Risk For Sepsis?

Some populations appear to be more prone to sepsis than others. Among those with a higher risk are:

• People with chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and cancer
• People with community-acquired pneumonia
• People previously diagnosed with sepsis
• People previously hospitalized
• People who have undergone chemotherapy or have had an organ transplant
• Seniors
• Infants

However, while these groups are at a higher risk, it is crucial to understand that no one is immune from sepsis.

The Sepsis Stages

Sepsis is divided into three stages. And because it can advance rapidly through these phases (sometimes within hours), physicians must detect and treat it at the onset.

Stage One: Sepsis

The initial stage, simply called sepsis, is treatable, but it frequently goes undetected by medical practitioners due to the symptoms resembling those of other conditions, such as:

• High fever
• Low fever
• Increased heart rate
• An infection detected through a blood culture

If sepsis is not identified in its first stage, or if a patient does not respond to treatment, it can quickly progress.

Stage Two: Severe Sepsis

Here, the symptoms expand as the immune system’s out-of-control response to the infection begins to affect the body’s organs, such as the kidneys, as well as the circulatory system.

These signs include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Decreased urination
• Abnormal heart rate
• Lethargy
• Chills
• Nausea and vomiting
• Rapid breathing or difficulty inhaling
• Discoloration under the skin and the extremities
• Light sensitivity
• Weakness
• Decline in cognition
• Loss of consciousness

The problem here is that, much like the first stage, second-stage symptoms may still be mistaken for signs of other conditions. As such, sepsis is deceptively challenging to detect. 

Stage Three: Septic Shock

While symptoms of septic shock are similar to those experienced in the second stage, two new symptoms usually emerge: an increase in serum lactate levels, which indicates shock, and a dramatic drop in blood pressure, which can have deadly consequences. The survival rate of septic shock ranges between 60% and 70%.

Medical Negligence and Sepsis

Medical errors can sometimes contribute to the development of sepsis. A practitioner may fail to clean a wound, diagnose an infection, or treat it with the appropriate antibiotic. When medical malpractice is suspected, a patient may seek compensation through a personal injury claim. If an error leads to death, the patient’s loved ones may pursue a wrongful death claim.

Contact Our Chicago Medical Malpractice Law Firm For Help Today

If you’ve been injured in an accident in Chicago, Illinois, and need legal help, contact our experienced Medical Malpractice lawyers at Attorneys of Chicago Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation today.

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