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Septic shock is a result of a systemic response to infection or multiple infectious causes. The precipitating infections that may lead to septic shock if severe enough include but are not limited to appendicitis, pneumonia, bacteremia, diverticulitis, pyelonephritis, meningitis, pancreatitis, necrotizing fasciitis, MRSA and mesenteric ischemia.
Neonatal sepsis can be difficult to diagnose as newborns may be asymptomatic. [92] If a newborn shows signs and symptoms suggestive of sepsis, antibiotics are immediately started and are either changed to target a specific organism identified by diagnostic testing or discontinued after an infectious cause for the symptoms has been ruled out. [93]
The SOFA scoring system is useful in predicting the clinical outcomes of critically ill patients. [8] According to an observational study at an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Belgium, the mortality rate is at least 50% when the score is increased, regardless of initial score, in the first 96 hours of admission, 27% to 35% if the score remains unchanged, and less than 27% if the score is reduced. [9]
In adults, vulnerable groups include those with an artificial joint, prior arthritis, diabetes and poor immune function. [2] Diagnosis is generally based on accurate correlation between history-taking and clinical examination findings, and basic laboratory and imaging findings like joint ultrasound.
Reference ranges (reference intervals) for blood tests are sets of values used by a health professional to interpret a set of medical test results from blood samples. Reference ranges for blood tests are studied within the field of clinical chemistry (also known as "clinical biochemistry", "chemical pathology" or "pure blood chemistry"), the ...
Purpura fulminans is a presenting feature of severe acute sepsis, such as Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Group A and B Streptococci, and less commonly with Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Capnocytophaga canimorsus [8] or Plasmodium falciparum (malaria) infections, particularly in individuals with asplenia.
SIRS is also closely related to sepsis, in which patients satisfy criteria for SIRS and have a suspected or proven infection. [2] [3] [4] [7] Many experts consider the current criteria for a SIRS diagnosis to be overly sensitive, as nearly all (>90%) of patients admitted to the ICU meet the SIRS criteria. [8]
MYCIN was an early backward chaining expert system that used artificial intelligence to identify bacteria causing severe infections, such as bacteremia and meningitis, and to recommend antibiotics, with the dosage adjusted for patient's body weight — the name derived from the antibiotics themselves, as many antibiotics have the suffix "-mycin".