Study finds sepsis is a booming medical threat

On Behalf of | May 20, 2014 | Failure To Diagnose

The term “sepsis” is pretty common in the medical field, and many people all across New Mexico have probably heard of it. But they may not know what it means. Sepsis is, quite simply, an infection of the bloodstream. When your blood becomes infected, a host of medical complications can occur and it can result in a patient losing his or her life. Sepsis can be treated, but it appears that doctors in the U.S. are increasingly struggling to deal with the medical condition.

According to a study that was presented at a meeting of the American Thoracic Society, about 750,000 people get sepsis every year in the U.S. In addition, sepsis-related deaths increased between the years of 2000 and 2010 even though hospitalization rates fell. The study also found a shocking rate of people who died and also had a blood infection. Roughly 52 percent of the deceased patients that the study looked at in 2010 had some sort of blood infection.

Clearly this is a serious issue in the medical community right now. The threat of drug-resistant bacteria is growing, and blood infections appear to be getting even more difficult to treat, if not identify.

Even though sepsis may be difficult to treat, that doesn’t mean that a patient deserves substandard care. With so many people dealing with sepsis on an annual basis, there needs to be a proactive push by the medical community to deal with this medical condition. Patients trust their lives with their doctors, surgeons and nurses, and that trust needs to be repaid.

Source: HealthDay News, “Blood Infections Play Role in Up to Half of Hospital Deaths: Study,” May 19, 2014

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