Septicemia - Treatment

Alternative Names

Blood poisoning; Bacteremia with sepsis

Treatment:

Septicemia is a serious condition that requires a hospital stay. You may be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).

You may be given:

Antibiotics to treat the infection
Fluids and medicines by IV to maintain the blood pressure
Oxygen
Plasma or other blood products to correct any clotting problems

Expectations (prognosis):

The outlook depends on the bacteria involved and how quickly the patient is hospitalized and treatment begins. The death rate is high -- more than 50% for some infections.

Complications:

Septicemia can quickly lead to:

Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
Septic shock
Death

Septicemia due to meningococci can lead to shock or adrenal collapse (Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome).

Calling your health care provider:

Septicemia is not common but it is very serious. Diagnosing it early may prevent septicemia from worsening to shock.

Seek immediate care if:

A person has a fever, shaking chills, and looks very ill
Any person who has been ill has changes in mental status
There are signs of bleeding into the skin

Call your health care provider if your child's vaccinations are not up-to-date.

Reviewed last on: 8/24/2011
Linda Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Munford RS, Suffredini AF. Sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009: chap 70.

Shapiro NI, Zimmer GD, Barkin AZ. Sepsis syndromes. In: Marx, JA, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009: chap 136.

Orenstein WA, Pickering LK. Immunization practices. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011: chap 165.

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