Sepsis begins with infection by bacteria or a virus. This panoramic ilustration inside a blood vessel shows rod-shaped bacteria, red blood cells and immune cells called leukocytes.
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Emily Brant, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences and Kristina E. Rudd, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences
Sepsis onset can be difficult to recognize, in part because its symptoms can mimic those of many other conditions. A treatment delay of even a few hours can make the difference between life and death.
Penicillin ushered in the antibiotics revolution, with amazing results during war and peace.
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Bill Sullivan, Indiana University School of Medicine
Albert Alexander was the first known person treated with penicillin. While his ultimately fatal case is well known in medical histories, the cause of his illness has been misattributed for decades.
The lack diagnostic laboratory systems exacerbates antibiotic resistance in Africa.
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Healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to laboratory diagnostics and often have to guess which antibiotics to use for presumed infections.
At least 5,000 Australians die each year as a result of sepsis, more commonly known as blood poisoning.
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With an ageing population, and the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, now is the time to be worried about sepsis.
Drips and other medical devices were potential sources of infection. But no-one expected to find hospital-acquired pneumonia and urinary tract infections.
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Former President George H.W. Bush was hospitalized for sepsis, which can be serious. Just what is this disease that accounts for one-third of all hospital deaths? A speed read explains the dangers.
Antimicrobial stewardship is proving effective, but we’re not fully across what is happening.
Drug-resistant strains of gonorrhoea, once easily dispatched with penicillin, are spreading across the globe resulting in chronic pain and sterility.
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Boxer Muhammad Ali died of septic shock, after being admitted to the hospital for a respiratory problem. Despite the fact more than a million people are hospitalized with sepsis each year, fewer than half of Americans know what the word sepsis means.
Diagnosing sepsis isn’t easy.
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Sepsis claims the lives of 8m people worldwide each year. It is the leading cause of hospital deaths in the US, a major threat to soldiers wounded in battle and a killer of children, particularly in under-resourced…
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