Sepsis

Also called Blood poisoning, Septicaemia

The body's response to infection damaging its own organs. Around 48,000 deaths a year in the UK, and hours decide the outcome.

What it is

Sepsis kills an estimated 48,000 people in the UK every year, more than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined. And a substantial share of those deaths are judged avoidable.

It is not an infection itself. It is the body's response to one going into overdrive and damaging its own tissues and organs. Any infection can cause it: a chest infection, a urinary tract infection, a wound, a pressure ulcer, even a scratch.

Every hour that antibiotic treatment is delayed measurably increases the risk of death. That is why this entry is about recognition and speed and almost nothing else.

Signs you might notice

In adults, the widely used prompt is: Slurred speech or confusion. Extreme shivering or muscle pain. Passing no urine in a day. Severe breathlessness. It feels like you are going to die. Skin mottled or discoloured.

In children: mottled, bluish or very pale skin, a rash that does not fade, breathing very fast, a fit, and being abnormally cold to touch. In under-fives also: not feeding, vomiting repeatedly, no wet nappy for 12 hours.

In older people and people with a learning disability, sepsis often presents only as confusion, a fall, or being not themselves. There may be no fever at all.

How it can affect day-to-day life

The people most at risk of sepsis are frequently those least able to describe symptoms. That is why "not themselves" has to be treated as a clinical observation rather than a vague one.

Post-sepsis syndrome is real and poorly recognised: fatigue, muscle weakness, cognitive difficulty, anxiety and PTSD lasting months after survival. Survivors are often discharged with no warning that any of it is coming.

Supporting someone well

Say the word. "Could this be sepsis?" is the single most useful sentence available to a family member or a support worker, and it is documented as changing clinical decisions.

Escalate on soft signs in vulnerable people. New confusion, a fall, reduced urine output, or a sudden change in behaviour in somebody who cannot report symptoms.

Know that a normal temperature does not rule it out.

Treat any wound, catheter or pressure ulcer as a possible source, and mention it.

In a service, use a structured deterioration tool such as NEWS2 or RESTORE2, and record observations so that a trend is visible. Fiducia Together keeps observations in the clinical record, which is what turns three separate readings into an escalating trend that somebody acts on.

After survival, expect post-sepsis syndrome and ask for support rather than assuming recovery is complete at discharge.

Where to get help

Call 999 or go to A and E and use the word sepsis.

The UK Sepsis Trust have a support line on 0808 800 0029 and produce the clinical tools.

If you are sent home and the person gets worse, go back. Deterioration is a reason to be reassessed, not a reason to wait.