Septic Shock

Running head: SEPSIS 1
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Title: Septic Shock

SEPSIS 2
Sepsis is a life threatening health condition brought about by the body responding to
certain infections. In cases of infections, the body releases chemical substances in to the
bloodstream and the body has to respond back to these chemical substance (Seymour and
Rosengart, 2015). Sometimes the body’s response to the chemical substances is out of balance
leading to this condition called sepsis. Sepsis can occur to anyone and it is dangerous and
common among the elderly, pregnant mothers, children less than 1 year old, people with chronic
conditions like cancer, kidney or disease or diabetes, and individuals with weak immunity.
Severe sepsis is a condition whereby sepsis is accompanied with hypotension, hyperfusion and
organ dysfunction. Hyperfusion can lead to lactataemia or altering mental status and functioning.
Hotchkiss et al. (2016) describe septic shock as a condition of sepsis associated with perfusion
abnormalities and hypotension even after the patient has been provided with sufficient fluid
resuscitation and vasopressors need to be used. Early research on sepsis was more focused on the
disease causing microorganism and the pathogenicity. Current study on the infection indicates
the people’s understanding pathophysiology and the interaction between the host and the
microorganism.
With the invention of molecular cloning in the 1980s, the research on sepsis shifted to
less on pathogenicity and more on how the host responds to the pathogen. Despite more research
and increased understanding on this condition, researchers’ and health professionals’ ability to
intervene and change the trajectory of the disease has not yielded much fruits. The mortality rate
as a result of sepsis and septic shock has however reduced in the past decades. This is attributed
to nurses complying to the supportive therapies (Hernández, & Teboul, 2016). Septic shock is
characterized by different signs and symptoms. Among these is the systematic inflammation and
causing other immune responses on the host. The systematic inflammation is as a result of the

SEPSIS 3
body releasing cytokines and other mediators which start fighting the infection (Gligorijevic,
Stojanovic, & Obradovic, 2016). The body also experiences temperature change. Any
temperature change above the normal is considered hyperthermia and sometimes the temperature
drops (hypothermia). This is because the body is trying to fight the disease causing
microorganism. Individual who have had surgery, just like Greer, could experience local
infections such as UTI and pneumonia, whose signs and symptoms are localized. This is
accompanied by feeling unwell and malaise just like Elodie the time she was presented to the
hospital. This is because sepsis affects the mental status of an individual. The nurse would also
look for high white blood count, elevated procalcitonin, low blood pressure, high cardiac index,
low central venous, reduced oxygen level, clotting abnormalities, low platelets level, low urine
output, increased bilirubin level, reduced capillary filling and high lactate in blood (Jone et al.
2013).
As stated earlier that septic shock is as a result body responding to certain infection.
This body response causes systematic reactions causing the body immunity to produce cytokines
for fighting these infections. Typically, cytokines stimulates vasodilation of the blood vessels at
the infected area. This allows more blood carrying mediators and disease fighting cells to flow to
that area. However, this is not the case with septic shock. Septic shock causes inflammation of
the whole body. The dilation of blood vessels causes reduction in blood pressure. The dilation of
blood vessels does not help in fighting the infection like in other cases of dilation when body is
stacked by infection, in fact it slows down blood flow and makes the body immune system more
ineffective (Kuipers et al. 2016). Hypotension therefore affects the body immune system making
it a priority problem for patients suffering from septic shock (for Elodie in the case study). Since
there is reduced immunity, the bacteria affecting the body can cause damage of vital organs.